Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arcliive 

in  2007  witli  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/colonelsexperimeOOdelaiala 


THE  COLONEL^S 
EXPERIMENT 


"Molly  and  Sybil 


.  were  doing   their   best   to    make  up  for 
lost  time." 

[Page  lay.l 


THE   COLONEL'S 
EXPERIMENT 


BY 

EDITH  BARNARD  DELANO 

AUTHOR  OF  "the  LAND  OF  CONTENT,"  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK    AND    LONDON 
D.    APPLETON    AND     COMPANY 

1913 


Copyright,  1913,  by 
D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1913,  by  Pert/  Mason  Company,  Boston,  Mass. 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


SRLF 
URL 

5140961 


To  the  friends  in  Deer  field 
who  like  the  story 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

I.  Introduces  the  Crawfords  . 

II.  Dad  Reads  a  Letter 

III.  The  Train  Pulls  Out 

IV.  Aboard  the  Emma  Niks 

V.  Sybilla 

VI.  ,The  First  Morning. 

VII.  The  Colonel  Writes  a  Note 

VIII.  The  Colonel  Surrenders     . 

IX.  A  Day  of  Surprises  . 

X.  The    Hermit       .... 

XI.  The  Colonel  Makes  a  Call 

XII.  Sybil's  Question 


XIII.     The  Colonel  Springs  a  Surprise    185 


XIV.  The  Ball.     .      .      . 

XV.  A  Chesapeake  Picnic 

XVI.  Jack 

XVII.  Home    Again 

XVIII.  The  Storm     .      .      . 

XIX.  The  Door  of  Memory 

XX.  What   Sybil   Said. 


I 

15 

24 

29 

50 

71 

92 

112 

123 

139 

153 

170 


199 
223 
247 
263 

273 
288 

305 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 


"Molly  and  Sybil  .  .  .  were  doing  their 
best  to  make  up  for  lost  time"  Frontispiece 

"'Sybilla!'" 68 

"  'Oh,  I  should  love  to  ride  him !'"       .      88 

"He  bore  her  .  .  .  into  the  sacred  room 
that  nad  been  his  wife's"      .      .      .    282 


The  Colonel's  Experiment 


INTRODUCES   THE   CRAWFORDS 

THE  twins  were  flattening  their  shapely 
noses  against  the  dining-room  window 
panes.  It  had  to  be  the  dining-room,  be- 
cause during  the  doctor's  office  hours  the  fam- 
ily living-room  was  used,  in  easy  village 
fashion,  as  a  reception  room  for  patients. 

"There  comes  Billy  now,"  cried  Bobs. 

But  Bunny,  in  the  farther  window,  had  a 
better  view. 

"No,"  she  said,  "it's  only  a  patient.  You 
might  know  Billy  wouldn't  be  coming  home 
alone." 

"I  know,"  Bobs  agreed.  "Those  two  might 
as  well  be  twins  themselves.  You  just  can't 
separate  them.  And  Don  belongs  to  us  as 
much  as  to  her,  and  they  both  just  make  me" — 

"Girls!  Girls!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Crawford, 
I 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

looking  up  over  her  sewing  table,  and  laugh- 
ing at  them. 

The  girls  turned  quickly;  and  when  they 
turned  it  was  evident  that  they  were  as  like 
as  two  petals  of  a  rose,  except  that  Roberta's 
eyes  were  gray  and  her  sister's  a  sparkling 
blue.  Their  only  outward  difference  was  in 
size  and  manner.  Roberta,  a  full  inch  the 
taller,  was  slender  as  Abundance  could  never 
hope  to  be;  she  bore  herself  with  a  boyish 
freedom  which  was  sorely  trying  to  her  twin. 
Abundance  was  plump;  and  self-evident 
though  it  was,  she  could  never  accept  the  fact 
philosophically.  She  was  fond  of  dress,  and 
her  hair  ribbons  were  always  laid  in  neat 
little  rolls  in  the  left-hand  corner  of  her  top 
bureau  drawer ;  Roberta's  were  never  in  place, 
and  only  too  seldom  on  her  hair.  Yet  dif- 
ferent though  they  were  in  disposition,  the 
two  adored  each  other;  and  now,  at  their 
mother's  reproof.  Abundance  was  ready  to 
defend  her  twin. 

"But  it  is  perfectly  true.  Mother-dear," 
said  Bunny.  "They  might  just  as  well  be 
twins,  from  the  way  they  stick  together.  You 
know  as  well  as  we  do  that  Don  belongs  to 
us  as  much  as  to  Billy — I  mean  Syb;  she's 

2 


INTRODUCES    CRAWFORDS 

only  a  plain  sister  to  him,  just  exactly  as  we 
are,  yet  she  sim-ply  mo-nop-olizes  him!" 

Bunny  had  grown  very  dramatic  over  her 
grievance,  but  Mrs,  Crawford  only  smiled 
again.  "Or  is  it  Donald  who  monopolizes 
Sybil?"  she  quietly  asked. 

The  twins  looked  at  each  other;  perhaps 
something  of  the  kind  had  suggested  itself 
to  them  before.  "Well,  anyway,"  said  Bunny, 
after  a  pause,  "the  result  is  the  same.  And 
when  an  oldest  brother  has  only  two  more 
days  of  his  vacation,  I  do  think  it  ought  to 
be  a  case  of  share  and  share  alike !" 

"At  any  rate,"  Roberta  declared  with  great 
dignity,  "if  they  wanted  to  get  rid  of  us, 
they  had  only  to  say  so,  and  not  pretend  to 
race  us  home  by  another  way." 

Mrs.  Crawford  kept  her  eyes  on  her  sew- 
ing, the  better  to  hide  her  amusement.  "Oh, 
surely,"  she  said,  "neither  Donald  nor  Sybil 
could  have  wanted  to — to  get  rid  of  you!" 

"It  looks  very  much  like  it,"  said  Bobs 
severely. 

Hallam,  the  youngest  member  of  the  Craw- 
ford family,  looked  up  from  his  geography, 
which  was  spread  before  him  on  the  dining- 
room   table,   and   chuckled.     Bunny   started 

3 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

towards  him;  but  as  she  passed  the  door  it 
opened,  and  a  tall  youth  with  eyes  like  her 
own  caught  her  by  the  shoulders. 

"Here  they  are,  Syb!"  he  called.  "Here 
they  are !  They've  beaten  us  home !  What 
a  great  thing  it  is  to  be  young!" 

Then  dignity,  grievance  and  suspicion  fell 
from  the  twins,  and  they  set  upon  the  beloved 
tease  with  four  fists  that  beat  as  one,  Sybil 
made  her  way  past  the  scrambling  trio 
towards  Mrs.  Crawford,  and,  stooping,  kissed 
her  where  the  soft  hair  was  beginning  to 
turn  gray  on  the  temple. 

"It's  getting  too  dark  for  you  to  sew. 
Mother-dear,"  she  said.  "Hallam,  look  at 
your  shoes !  Bunny,  you'll  ruin  your  voice 
if  you  screech  so !  Bobs,  here's  your  red 
hair-ribbon ;  it  was  waving  from  the  palings 
of  Mrs.  Black's  gate,  but  I  'knew  it  was  yours 
from  the  ink  spots.     Where's  Dad?" 

She  had  taken  off  her  hat  and  coat  in  the 
hall,  and  now  she  drew  up  a  small  chair  be- 
side the  work  table,  leant  over,  and  pressed 
her  cold  cheek  against  her  mother's.  It  would 
have  been  evident  to  an  observer  of  the  lit- 
tle scene  that  there  was  a  peculiarly  tender 
bond  between  the  two.  Mrs.  Crawford  had 
4 


INTRODUCES   CRAWFORDS 

an  ever-ready  smile  or  caress  for  the  other 
members  of  her  family ;  but  towards  this  tall, 
dark  girl  with  the  curling  brown  hair,  and 
the  large  gray  eyes  which  seemed  almost  black 
under  their  black  brows  and  lashes,  there 
was  always  something  of  added  warmth,  of 
deepened  tenderness,  of  greater  satisfaction. 
To  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Crawford  all  their  chil- 
dren were  satisfactory  and  deeply  beloved ; 
but  insensibly  they  took  Sybil,  the  adopted 
child,  more  into  their  companionship,  gave 
her  more  of  their  confidence,  held  her,  in  fact, 
as  the  peculiarly  dear  eldest  daughter,  as  if 
to  make  up  to  her  whatever  she  might  have 
missed  in  not  being  wholly  their  own. 

So  now  Mrs.  Crawford  turned  to  kiss  the 
cool  cheek  pressed  to  hers,  and  smiled  into 
the  clear  gray  eyes  as  she  said : 

"Have  you  had  a  good  time,  darling?  Don- 
ald has  only  another  day  of  vacation,  and  I 
do  want  him  to  crowd  into  it  all  the  pleasure 
he  can.    Where  have  you  been?" 

Sybil  glanced  towards  the  twins  and 
laughed.  "We  all  four  went  over  to  Hunter's 
Hill  for  the  last  slide  of  the  season;  but 
there  was  not  enough  snow  left  to  make 
the  tobogganing  good.    So  Don  suggested  that 

5 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Bunny  and  Bobs  take  the  west  road,  and  he 
and  I  the  State  road,  and  see  which  pair 
got  home  first.  Of  course,  we'd  have  beaten 
them,  but  we  stopped  at  the  Greshams',  and 
then  Jack  Wetherbee  and  Mabel  joined  us, 
and  then  we  went  to  the  postoffice — Oh,  and 
here  are  two  letters !" 

The  twins,  interested  in  Sybil's  recital,  had 
left  Donald  to  smooth  his  hair  and  arrange 
his  neck-tie,  and  drawn  nearer  the  fireplace. 
"Two  letters  \"  they  cried  in  unison.  "Where 
are  they?" 

It  was  plain  that  letters  were  events  in 
the  Crawford  family,  as  well  as  pleasures 
shared  by  all.  The  twins  made  a  rush,  with 
outstretched  hands,  but  Donald  tossed  the 
letters  over  their  heads  into  his  mother's  lap. 
"One  for  you  from  Auntie,  Mother-dear," 
he  said,  "and  one  for  Dad.  No,  you  don't, 
little  girls!  It's  not  polite  to  grab,  and  it's 
not  polite  to  read  post-marks !  You  must 
cultivate  the  virtue  of  patience,  young  'uns!" 

And  with  a  restraining  arm  about  the  neck 
of  each  of  the  twins,  he  held  them  while  Mrs. 
Crawford  opened  her  letter  and  read  bits  of 
it  aloud. 

It  was  evident  that  she  found  it  deeply  in- 
6 


INTRODUCES    CRAWFORDS 

teresting ;  but  while  Donald  and  Sybil  listened 
politely,  little  Hallam  returned  to  his  geogra- 
phy, and  the  twins  were  squirming  restlesslv. 
At  last  Bobs  exclaimed: 

"Oh,  don't  people  get  queer  when  they  get 
old;  Auntie's  a  dear,  of  course;  but  who  cares 
about  her  spring  sewing!  People  ought  to 
put  nothing  but  interesting  things  in  letters !" 

"Why,  Bobs!"  Abundance  protested,  "I 
guess  you'd  care  if  it  was  Mother-dear's  sew- 
ing that  somebody  disappointed  about  and 
your  dresses !" 

"Bunny!    Your  grammar!"  cried  Sybil. 

But  if  Bunny  had  her  little  peculiarities, 
it  would  seem  that  Sybil  had,  also. 

"Hand  her  the  whip!"  said  Hallam. 

"Keep  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  old  lady !" 
Don  chimed  in.     "And  walk  them  uphill!" 

"Yes,  drive  us,  drive!"  said  Bunny  with 
mock  bitterness.    "Manage  us  all!" 

Mrs.  Crawford  was  folding  her  letter  and 
putting  it  back  in  its  envelope.  "Children, 
children !"  she  mildly  protested.  "Bunny,  my 
dear!  Roberta,  is  that  a  tear  in  the  back  of 
your  new  skirt?" 

Roberta  hastily  sat  down.  "Mother-dear, 
do  read  \is  your  other  letter!"  she  said,  hop- 

7 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

ing  to  escape  further  remarks  about  her  torn 
dress. 

"It  is  not  Mother-dear's  letter,"  said  Sybil. 
"It's  addressed  to  Dad." 

"Well,  only  just  tell  us  where  it's  from, 
Mother-dear,"  Abundance  begged,  little 
dreaming  of  the  surprise  that  was  to  follow 
her  simple  request. 

Mrs.  Crawford,  with  her  tender  smile  that 
was  half  indulgence,  half  amusement,  took  up 
the  letter  and  looked  at  the  post-mark.  Then, 
slowly,  the  smile  faded,  and  with  it  the  color 
from  her  face,  even  from  her  lips.  As  she 
held  the  letter  and  looked  at  it,  her  expres- 
sion changed  to  one  almost  of  fear. 

Donald  and  Sybil  sprang  forward  and  bent 
over  her.  "Mother!  Mother-dear!  what  is  it? 
What  is  the  matter?"  the  tall  son  cried  in 
alarm;  but  it  was  to  Sybil  that  she  held  out 
her  hand,  and  it  was  Sybil  that  she  drew 
down  towards  her. 

"Sybil !  Sybil !"  she  exclaimed,  holding  the 
girl's  hand  against  her  cheek. 

Sybil,  in  her  alarm,  had  dropped  to  her 
knees.  "Mother-dear!  Mother!  what  is  it? 
Are  you  ill?     Oh,  darling" — 

But  Mrs.  Crawford,  looking  down  into 
8 


INTRODUCES    CRAWFORDS 

Sybil's  pale  face,  and  realizing  that  she  was 
alarming  them  all,  called  upon  that  inner 
store  of  courage  which  all  mothers  seem  to 
possess,  and  even  laughed  a  little,  as  if  to 
allay  their  fears. 

"No,  no!"  she  cried.  "It  is  nothing,  noth- 
ing at  all!  I  think  I  must  have  been  sitting 
too  long!"  She  closed  her  eyes  for  an  in- 
stant, and  once  more  pressed  Sybil's  hand  to 
her  cheek;  then  she  stood  up,  and  said,  "It 
is  nothing  to  be  frightened  about,  children! 
I  felt  quite  ill  for  a  moment,  but  I  am  all 
right  now!  That  is — I  think  I  will  speak  to 
your  father!" 

And  with  that  she  arose  and  went  toward 
the  doctor's  little  office,  and,  with  a  murmur 
and  a  knock,  turned  the  knob  and  went  in- 
side, closing  the  door  firmly  behind  her. 

The  five  young  people  looked  from  one 
to  another.  Bunny,  the  irrepressible,  was  the 
first  to  speak.  "Now,  what  do  you  think  of 
that?"  she  demanded  of  the  company  in  gen- 
eral. 

"Do  you  suppose  it  was  the  letter  that  made 

her    feel    sick?"    Hallam    asked;    and    Bobs 

turned   to   Donald,   with   "Where   was   that 

letter  from,  Don?    You  know  you  looked!" 

9 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Donald  hesitated  a  minute,  then  said,  "Yes, 
I  confess  I  did  look!  But  it  couldn't  have 
been  the  letter  that  made  her  sick,  for  it  was 
only  from  some  little  place  nobody  ever  heard 
of  in  Maryland.  That  kind  of  letter  doesn't 
frighten  the  life  out  of  anybody." 

Sybil,  who  had  been  looking  with  troubled 
eyes  toward  the  closed  office  door,  said,  "No, 
it  couldn't  have  been  the  letter.  We  don't 
know  anybody  in  Maryland." 

The  twins  began  to  look  excited.  "Oh," 
cried  Bunny,  "perhaps  it's  a  mystery! 
Wouldn't  it  be  perfectly  lovely  to  have  a 
mystery  in  the  family?" 

"Or  a  fortune  left  to  us,  or  something  like 
that!"  Roberta  added. 

The  merry  chatter  went  on.  Only  Sybil  re- 
mained silent  and  thoughtful;  and  when  the 
office  door  opened  and  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Craw- 
ford came  into  the  room,  it  was  only  Sybil 
who  noticed  that  her  mother's  face  was  still  a 
little  pale,  and  that  there  was  a  shade  less  of 
gayety  than  usual  in  the  doctor's  cheery  greet- 
ing. Sybil  went  at  once  to  Mrs.  Crawford  and 
put  one  arm  about  her  waist. 

"Precious  dear,  are  you  all  right  now?" 
lo 


INTRODUCES    CRAWFORDS 

she  asked,  while  the  others  besieged  the  doc- 
tor with  questions  about  the  letter. 

Mrs.  Crawford,  by  way  of  answer,  took  the 
girl's  face  between  her  palms,  and  said,  in 
a  tone  so  low  that  the  others  could  scarcely 
have  heard,  even  if  they  had  been  listening: 

"My  little  girl!  My  darling!  You  are  as 
dear  to  me  as  any  daughter  in  the  world 
could  be!  Remember  that  always,  always, 
Sybil!" 

Then,  perhaps  because  she  saw  the  look  of 
surprise  and  alarm  that  sprang  into  Sybil's 
eyes,  she  laughed,  and  gave  her  a  little  push. 
"There,"  she  said,  "run  along  and  get  on 
your  things !  Father  wants  you  to  drive  with 
him  this  afternoon." 

But  Donald  had  caught  the  last  remark. 
He  turned  to  his  father  with  a  protest. 

"Oh,  I  say,  Dad,"  he  cried.  "You're  not 
going  to  carry  Sybil  off  with  you  on  my  last 
afternoon,  are  you?" 

Dr.  Crawford  laid  a  friendly  hand  on  his 
tall  son's  shoulder.  "Sorry,  old  man,  but 
that  is  just  what  I'm  going  to  do!" 

Father  and  son  looked  into  each  other's 
eyes  with  affection  and  understanding — and 
more;  for  Doctor  Crawford  was  an  intimate 
II 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

friend  of  each  of  his  children,  and  their  trust 
and  faith  in  him  was  unbounded.  For  that 
matter,  he  was  a  friend  of  all  the  world; 
people  in  South  Wickham  said  of  him  that 
he  had  a  genius  for  friendship.  His  mission 
in  life  was  one  of  healing,  and  he  loved  to 
heal  the  heart  and  the  mind  as  well  as  the 
body.  In  fact,  he  had  a  way  of  seeking  first 
for  the  ills  of  the  spirit,  for  he  held  to  the 
theory  that  when  all  is  well  with  that,  it  is 
easier  to  cure  mere  physical  ailments.  Many 
a  person  called  him  in  as  friend  and  comforter 
and  adviser;  there  was  not  a  child  in  the 
village  who  did  not  know  him  and  wave 
to  him,  nor  an  old  person  who  did  not  love 
to  see  him  drive  by.  So  it  was  not  remark- 
able that  his  children  vied  with  one  another 
for  the  pleasure  of  going  with  him. 

Donald's  eyes  were  smiling.  "Well,  if  you 
will  separate  the  members  of  a  loving  family, 
Dad,  let  me  be  the  one  to  go  with  you!"  he 
pleaded. 

But  the  doctor  shook  his  head.  "Sorry, 
Don !  I  need  my  General  Manager  this  after- 
noon !" 

It  was  the  title  he  used  for  Sybil  when  he 

12 


INTRODUCES   CRAWFORDS 

was  in  a  teasing  mood ;  now  Sybil  responded 
with  a  laugh. 

"Oh,  call  me  anything  you  like,  Dad  dar- 
ling; you  know  you  couldn't  get  on  without 
me  for  a  day!" 

She  spoke  the  words  thoughtlessly ;  but  she 
caught  the  quick  little  look  that  passed  between 
father  and  mother,  and  was  conscious  imme- 
diately of  a  vague  feeling  of  foreboding,  or 
fear. 

"Why,"  she  began,  "what " 

But  the  doctor  drew  her  out  with  him,  his 
arm  about  her  shoulders.  "Time  to  be  off," 
he  said,  and  closed  the  door  behind  them,  to 
go  out  to  the  dingy  little  runabout  that  had 
traveled  so  many  miles  of  country  road  in 
all  weathers. 

For  a  moment  there  was  silence  in  that 
comfortable  dining-room  which  was  usually 
so  full  of  sound.  It  was  as  if  a  shadow  of 
Sybil's  feeling  had  fallen  upon  the  ones  left 
there.     Then  Donald  spoke. 

"There's  something  queer  about  this! 
Mother " 

But  Mrs.  Crawford  looked  up,  and  some- 
thing he  read  in  her  face  silenced  him.    The 
twins,  however,  broke  forth  into  chatter. 
13 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"Nothing  the  matter  but  the  same  old 
thing,"  said  Bobs.  "He  just  encourages  Billy 
in  liking  to  manage  people.  Now  she's  even 
beginning  to  think  she  manages  some  of  his 
patients." 

"Yes,"  Bunny  agreed,  while  she  preened 
herself  before  the  mantel  mirror,  "and  good- 
ness knows,  Billy's  already  far  too  boss-ious, 
as  Norah  says!" 

"Well,  we  have  Don  to  ourselves  for  a  min- 
ute or  two,  anyway,"  said  Bobs;  and  the 
twins  fell  upon  him  with  embraces. 

But  Mrs.  Crawford  for  once  was  oblivious 
of  their  noise.  She  sat  looking  into  the  fire 
with  troubled  eyes. 


II 

DAD    READS    A    LETTER 

IT  was  not  until  the  entire  family  were 
seated  at  the  supper  table  that  evening 
that  the  subject  of  the  letter  was  brought  up 
again;  and  this  time  it  was  brought  up,  quite 
innocently,  by  the  only  one  of  them  who  had 
not  been  present  during  the  scene  in  the 
earlier  afternoon. 

Richard,  the  family  book-worm,  who  came 
between  Sybil  and  the  twins  in  age,  was  the 
kindest,  most  blundering  soul  alive ;  he  in- 
variably said  the  one  thing  that  should  have 
been  left  unuttered,  was  the  most  awkward, 
and  was  forever  giving  his  brothers  and 
sisters  away,  without  in  the  least  intending 
anything  of  the  sort;  and  he  was  equally 
forever  doing  some  small  kindness,  remem- 
bering something  that  others  forgot,  and  get- 
ting in  everyone's  way  with  his  well-meant 
ministrations. 

15 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

He  sat  on  his  mother's  left  at  the  table; 
Mrs.  Crawford  had  a  way  of  reminding  him  to 
eat,  of  giving  him  a  quiet  touch  when  he 
would  have  talked  on  or  listened  absorbedly 
until  his  food  was  cold ;  he  shared  her  special 
care  wiih  Hallam,  whose  place  was  at  her 
right.  But  Dick,  oblivious  though  he  was 
of  his  own  comfort  and  interests,  invariably 
noticed  when  anything  was  wrong  with  those 
he  loved.  This  evening,  quite  suddenly,  in 
the  midst  of  a  spirited  discussion  between  the 
twins,  their  father  and  Donald,  he  exclaimed : 

"I  say,  Dad!  I  think  Mother-dear  must 
need  a  tonic!  She  hasn't  eaten  any  supper 
at  all,  and  she's  as  white  as  paper!" 

They  turned,  one  and  all;  and  Mrs.  Craw- 
ford was,  indeed,  pale.  The  young  people 
caught  a  strange  look  that  passed  between  her 
and  their  father. 

"Tell  them  now,  Robert,"  she  said.  "We've 
all  finished  supper.  Tell  them.  They  have 
got  to  know!" 

The  twins  gasped,  and  clasped  each  other's 
hands;  Donald  looked  first  at  Sybil,  then  at 
his  father,  and  flushed  deeply. 

The  doctor  pushed  his  chair  back  from  the 
table,  and  smiled  teasingly  at  the  twins. 
i6 


DAD   READS   A   LETTER 

"Well,"  he  said,  "there's  not  much  mystery, 
young  ladies !  I  regret  to  disappoint  you,  but 
we'll  try  to  make  the  most  of  what  there  is." 

He  drew  from  his  pocket  the  envelope  with 
the  Maryland  postmark,  put  on  his  eyeglasses, 
and  said: 

"Perhaps  I  ought  to  tell  you  that  this  letter 
is  from  an  old  gentleman  named  William 
Crockett,  a  cousin  of  your  grandfather's.  I 
have  not  seen  him  for  many  years,  and  I  had 
never  expected  to  hear  from  him  again.  This 
letter  was  as  great  a  surprise  to  your  mother 
and  me  as  it  will  be  to  you.  It  will  explain 
itself. 

Montebello,  Montford  Landing, 

Maryland,  March  20,  19 . 

My  dear  Robert: 

I  venture  to  believe  that,  as  your  father's  son, 
you  are  not  a  man  who  could  repudiate  the  bonds 
of  relationship  nor  ignore  an  appeal  based  upon 
them.  Until  lately  I  have  had  no  desire  to  know 
anything  of  you  nor  to  make  any  claim  upon  you. 
That  you  have  shown  a  similar  disposition  has 
been  a  matter  of  satisfaction  to  me.  Within  the 
past  few  months,  however,  and  after  due  delib- 
eration, I  have  made  inquiries  concerning  you, 
and  I  am  told  that  you  are  practising  your  pro- 

17 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

fession  in  South  Wickham,  and  are  the  father  of 
sons  and  daughters. 

As  you  are  aware,  I  am  childless;  my  sister 
Sophia  and  I  have  lived  alone  for  years.  We 
have  come  to  that  time  of  life  where  we  know 
the  infirmities  of  age,  and  not  least  among  them 
I  may  count  the  feeling  of  loneliness.  Sophia 
and  I  are  two  lonely  old  people. 

It  will  give  us  great  pleasure  if  you  will  allow 
one  of  your  daughters  to  make  us  a  visit  of  in- 
definite length.  Don't  send  a  boy.  I  have  no 
use  for  boys.  Even  having  a  young  girl  in  the 
house  will  be  an  experiment,  but  one  from  which 
I  anticipate  some  pleasure. 

You  will  not,  I  think,  refuse  this  request  from 
an  old  man  whose  nearest  of  kindred  you  are. 
Kindly  wire  me  on  the  departure  of  the  young 
lady,  and  she  shall  be  met  at  the  landing. 
Yours  to  command, 

William  Crockett. 

When  the  doctor  finished  reading  this  ex- 
traordinary epistle,  he  looked  into  the  most 
surprised  circle  of  faces  that  he  had  ever 
beheld.  But  only  Mrs.  Crawford  and  Sybil 
remained  silent;  the  others  began  to  speak  at 
once,  in  a  torrent  of  questions  and  exclama- 
tions. 

"Of  all  the  rank  impertinences !"  cried 
Donald.  g 


DAD   READS   A   LETTER 

"Oh,  it  was  a  mystery !  It  was !  It  was  !'* 
cried  Bobs. 

"Say,  he's  got  his  nerve  with  him,  hasn't 
he?"  said  Dick,  and  Donald  joined  in  again 
with,  "I'd  Hke  to  see  him  get  one  of  our  girls 
down  there !  Sounds  like  a  cantankerous  old* 
wretch !" 

"Boys  are  just  as  good  as  girls,"  said 
Hallam. 

"When  can  we  start.  Mother-dear  ?"  begged 
Bunny.  "Can  we  have  new  challies,  and  get 
our  spring  hats  trimmed  in  time?" 

"What  does  he  mean  by  your  being  his 
nearest  relation?"  asked  Dick,  and  the  doctor 
answered  him  through  the  babel  of  tongues. 

"He  meant  just  that,  my  son.  I  used  to 
spend  some  very  happy  weeks  at  Montebello, 
when  I  was  a  lad.  But  I  had  not  expected 
ever  to  hear  from  Colonel  Crockett  again.  I 
can  not  refuse  such  a  request  as  this  from 
him." 

And  Bobs  first  gave  her  twin  an  ecstatic 
hug,  then  cried,  "Oh,  it's  better  than  a  mys- 
tery!    Dad!    When  can  we  go?" 

Their  father  pursed  his  lips  and  looked  at 
them,  shaking  his  head, 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that?"  demanded 
19 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Bunny.  "Aren't  you  going  to  let  us  go  ?  Oh, 
Daddy!" 

It  was  Roberta  who  first  hit  upon  the  fact. 
"Oh!"  she  exclaimed,  in  as  shocked  a  tone 
as  she  knew  how  to  command.  "Oh,  Daddy ! 
You  aren't  going  to  let  Sybil  go  instead  of 
us?     Oh,  Daddy!" 

The  doctor  said,  "Ask  Sybil!" 

Then  again,  for  a  moment,  there  was 
silence.  Every  one  looked  at  Sybil;  and  to 
everyone  it  was  plain  that  she  knew  who 
was  to  go.  Donald  leaned  across  the  table 
toward  her. 

"Sybil!"  he  cried.  "Sybil!  You  are  not 
going  away!"  Then  he  turned  to  his  father, 
his  young  face  marked  with  distress.  "Dad ! 
You  couldn't  send  Sybil  away !  You  couldn't. 
Father!" 

"It  rests  with  Sybil  herself,"  the  doctor 
said. 

Richard  had  been  staring  at  his  father  with 
all  the  emphasis  of  his  spectacles.  "But,  I 
say,  Dad,  if  you've  got  to  send  anyone,  it 
ought  to  be  one  of  us!" 

The  doctor  frowned,  but  before  he  could 
speak  Donald  added  another  protest. 

20 


DAD   READS   A   LETTER 

"That's  right,  Dad,"  he  said,  "it  ought  to 
be  one  of  our  own " 

This  time  the  doctor  would  be  heard.  He 
brought  his  hand  down  upon  the  table  with 
a  force  that  made  the  cups  jump  in  their 
saucers,  and  everyone  stopped  talking. 

"Donald,  Richard,  you  forget  yourselves," 
he  said,  sternly.  "Sybil  is  going  to  Maryland. 
That  is  decided.  You  may  trust  your  father 
without  further  explanations." 

Whereupon  he  walked  into  his  office  and 
closed  the  door.  But  now  Donald  was  look- 
ing at  his  mother,  his  face  pale  and  dis- 
tressed. Mrs.  Crawford  arose,  came  around 
the  table,  laid  her  arms  about  his  shoulders 
and  her  cheek  against  his  hair. 

"My  dear  son!"  she  said,  and  somehow 
Donald  was  sure  that  she  understood  all  his 
distress. 

"But,    Mother "   he  began;   but   Mrs. 

Crawford  laid  a  finger  on  his  lips,  and  mur- 
mured,  "Not   now,   dear!" 

So  for  the  time  no  one  talked  of  the  sur- 
prising letter,  although  the  very  atmosphere 
was  charged  with  excitement  and  curiosity. 
But  when  the  younger  members  of  the  family 
had  gone  to  bed,  and  Mrs.  Crawford  was 
21 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

with  the  doctor  in  the  office,  and  Sybil  was 
alone  with  Donald  and  Dick,  she  said : 

"Oh,  boys,  why  did  you  talk  like  that  to 
Dad?  Did  you  want  to  remind  me  that  I'm 
nothing  but  an  Adopted,  and  not  really  and 
truly  one  of  you,  like  Bunny  and  Bobs?" 

Richard  threw  down  the  book  he  had  been 
trying  to  read,  and  cried,  "Now,  Syb !  That's 
unfair  of  you!" 

And  Donald  left  his  chair  to  stand  in  front 
of  the  fire,  where  he  could  look  down  at  her. 
"It's  just  the  other  way,  Sybil,"  he  said,  "and 
you  know  it!  If  you  were  not  an  Adopted 
we  could  send  you  off  and  knock  you  around 
and  do  any  old  thing  to  you.  But  as  it  is,  we 
have  to  take  extra  good  care  of  you,  and 
watch  over  you,  and — and  all  that  sort  of 
thing.  We  just  have  to,  Syb!  Don't  you 
see?" 

Sybil  was  looking  into  the  last  red  glow 
of  the  fire.  "It's  just  because  I'm  not,  really 
and  truly,  'one  of  us'  that  I  particularly 
want  to  go.  You  see,  since  my  father  and 
mother  died,  and  my  own  father  gave  me 
to  Mother-dear  and  Dad,  I  have  been  so  much 
like  their  own,  ownest  child  that  the  girls 
and  Hallam  don't  even  dream  I'm  not!    Dad 

22 


DAD   READS   A   LETTER 

has  some  reason — I  don't  know  what — for 
wanting  to  do  as  this  old  gentleman  asks ;  and 
if  I  can  do  anything  in  this  world  to  show  him 
and  Mother-dear  how  grateful  I  am  for  all 
they  have  done  for  me,  I  am  going  to  do  it." 

"Sentimental  stuff!"  said  Donald. 

"It  is  more  than  that,  Don,"  Sybil  calmly 
protested.  "Dad  spends  his  whole  life  looking 
after  people;  and  Mother-dear  is  as  nearly 
an  angel  as  it's  safe  to  be;  and  they  have 
never  for  one  single  minute  made  me  feel 
that  they  loved  me  less  than  any  of  the 
rest  of  you.  Well,  I  am  going  to  do  all  I 
can  to  prove  myself  the  true  child  of  their 
teaching  and  training,  even  by  going  to  take 
care  of  those  old  people,  if  that  is  the  first 
way  that  comes  along." 

"Well,  I  don't  understand  it,"  Donald  said. 
"It's  not  like  Father  to  ship  you  off  to  a 
stranger.     I  don't  like  it." 


Ill 

THE    TRAIN    PULLS    OUT 

FOR  a  fortnight  after  Donald's  return 
to  college  the  doctor's  household  was 
busy  with  preparations  for  Sybil's  departure. 
Mrs.  Crawford  made  an  inventory  of  all  that 
Sybil  possessed  in  the  way  of  clothing;  then 
there  was  a  long  consultation  and  a  whole 
morning  spent  in  shopping  in  the  nearest  large 
city.  A  shopping  trip  was  always  an  event 
for  the  Crawford  girls;  and  Bobs  and  Bunny 
felt  very  much  left  out  of  things  because 
this  time  the  purchases  were  all  for  Sybil. 
They  held  themselves  rather  aloof  from  the 
opening  of  the  parcels  and  boxes — as  much 
as  their  curiosity  allowed;  but  when  Mrs. 
Wicks  arrived  and  the  actual  sewing  began, 
a  strange  and  unusual  calm  fell  upon  them. 

"What   on   earth    is   the   matter   with   the 
twins?"  Doctor  Crawford  asked  his  wife  one 
evening  when  they  were  alone. 
24 


THE   TRAIN   PULLS   OUT 

Mrs.  Crawford  laughed.  "Well,  you  know 
they  were  quite  jealous  of  Sybil's  going  to 
Maryland,  at  first.  They  are  trying  to  be 
dignified  and  disapproving  about  it  now,  but 
I  think  their  hearts  are  weakening." 

The  doctor  laughed  with  her,  "I  see !  You 
had  better  be  near  to  support  poor  Sybil  when 
the  thaw  arrives!"  he  said. 

But  the  thaw,  as  the  doctor  called  it,  did 
not  arrive  until  so  many  of  Sybil's  new  gar- 
ments were  finished  that  the  big  trunk  had 
to  be  brought  down  from  the  attic  to  hold 
them.  Thereafter  they  followed  Sybil  every- 
where, upstairs  and  downstairs,  indoors  and 
out,  during  every  moment  they  could  be  at 
home.  They  watched  her  with  round,  wist- 
ful eyes,  until  she  felt,  at  times,  as  if  eyes 
were  peering  at  her  from  every  shadow,  as 
they  do  in  nightmares.  Sybil  had  not  the 
heart  to  remonstrate  with  them,  for  their 
distress  was  very  genuine ;  but  she  confided  to 
the  doctor  that  she  really  could  not  stand  it 
very  much  longer.     Her  father  laughed. 

"Poor  chickens !"  he  said.  "No,  it  wouldn't 
do  to  snub  them  for  it.  They  fed  that  they 
are  exploring  the  sorrow  of  the  world,  and 
^5 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

although  it  is  painful,  it  also  has  its  fascina- 
tion for  them." 

Every  hour  of  the  two  weeks  was  crowded 
with  work  or  fun,  Mrs.  Crawford  wanted  to 
consult  Sybil  about  one  thing  or  another, 
Mrs.  Wicks  was  constantly  demanding  her 
for  a  fitting,  the  twins  were  always  getting 
in  her  way,  Dick  was  forever  begging  her  to 
come  out  for  a  walk,  and  the  doctor  would 
have  liked  her  to  drive  with  him  every  after- 
noon. Then,  there  were  all  the  friends  in  the 
village,  who  clamored  for  farewell  visits ; 
there  were  more  invitations  to  dinner  or  sup- 
per than  she  could  have  accepted  in  a  month, 
and  all  her  friends  brought  something  for 
her  to  take  away  with  her,  some  little  remem- 
brance in  the  shape  of  a  pretty  thing  to  wear 
or  something  to  read  or  something  useful  for 
her  bureau  or  traveling-bag. 

But  at  last  the  day  of  her  departure  ar- 
rived, and  all  of  the  family  and  most  of  her 
friends  were  on  the  station  platform  to  bid  her 
farewell. 

The  doctor  went  with  her  as  far  as  New 
York,    As  he  kissed  her  good-bye,  he  said : 

"You  have  your  money  and  tickets  all  safe  ? 
That's  right !  Now  remember,  take  a  carriage 
26 


THE    TRAIN   PULLS   OUT 

at  the  station  in  Baltimore,  and  go  to  Pier  i8 ; 
your  boat  leaves  at  ten,  and  you  ought  to 
get  to  the  Montebello  landing,  Montford, 
about  four  or  five.  Someone  will  meet  you 
there.  Telegraph  me  from  Baltimore,  and 
write  from  Montebello." 

He  stepped  down  from  the  vestibule  of  the 
car,  and  waved  his  hand  up  to  her  in  fare- 
well; but  before  he  had  gone  half  the  length 
of  the  car  she  called  him  back. 

"Daddy,  you  won't  forget  to  button  the 
top  button  of  your  overcoat  when  it  rains, 
will  you?  And  tell  Hallam  if  he  forgets  to 
feed  his  baby  rabbits  they  will  die.  And  tell 
Bunny  I  wish  I  could  have  brought  the  kitten 
she  gave  me,  and " 

But  the  doctor,  laughing,  sent  her  back  into 
the  car.  It  was  well  for  her  pride  that  the 
lights  in  the  corridor  were  dimmed ;  for  tears 
would  persist  in  foolishly  trickling  down  her 
cheeks.  Later,  in  her  berth,  she  lay  thinking, 
thinking,  of  the  dear  home  life  she  had  left,  of 
the  new  life  she  was  going  to.  She  knew  al- 
most nothing  of  this  Montebello;  but,  all  the 
same,  she  had  formed  a  rather  definite  idea  of 
it.  It  was  old,  of  course ;  and  when  Dad  used 
to  go  there,  as  a  young  man,  there  was  more 
27 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

or  less  gayety,  led  by  the  boy  cousin  he  had 
visited.  She  had  forgotten  to  ask  who  the 
boy  cousin  was,  what  relation  he  might  have 
been  to  the  Colonel  and  Miss  Sophia ;  in  fact, 
it  was  all  pretty  hazy — it  had  been  so  evident 
that  Dad  was  reluctant  to  tell  her  very  much. 

Her  thoughts  went  on  and  on,  until — it 
seemed  to  her  quite  suddenly — ^the  porter's 
voice  was  saying  through  the  curtains  of  her 
berth— 

"Balt'mer  in  twenty  minutes,  Miss!"  and 
a  narrow  thread  of  light  was  coming  past  the 
window-curtains,  and  she  laughed  to  realize 
that  she  had,  after  all,  slept  soundly  through 
the  night. 


IV 

ABOARD    THE   EMMA    NILES 

SYBIL  was  soon  dressed,  and  by  the  time 
the  train  drew  into  the  station  was  very 
wide  awake  indeed,  and  too  excited  to  be 
homesick.  Everyone  was  kind;  the  sleeping- 
car  porter  asked  after  her  health  and  the  con- 
ductor hoped  she  would  arrive  safely  at  her 
journey's  end,  and  called  a  station-porter  to 
take  charge  of  her  suit-case  and  find  her  a 
cab.  Sybil  was  glad  to  follow  him  out  into 
the  freshness  of  the  morning.  She  had  him 
lead  her  first  to  the  telegraph  window  so  that 
she  might  send  the  promised  message  to 
Mother-dear,  and  next  to  get  a  bite  of  break- 
fast; then  he  led  the  way  up  a  long  flight  of 
steps  to  a  street,  and  gave  her  bag  into  the 
keeping  of  the  very  old,  very  ragged  colored 
driver  of  an  ancient  four-wheel  vehicle. 

They  rattled  along  over  the  cobblestones  of 
the  streets,  down  the  hills  to  those  just  awak- 
29 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

ening  to  the  business  of  the  day,  past  the 
wharves  with  their  masses  of  freight,  until  at 
last  the  driver  leaned  back  and  said : 

"Dis  yer's  de  Emma  Niles,  Miss.  I'll  in- 
terduce  yer  to  de  Captain !" 

Sybil  smiled,  but  the  old  negro  opened  the 
door  of  his  vehicle  with  as  grand  a  manner 
as  if  it  were  a  chariot  of  state  and  he  a  foot- 
man to  the  King;  then  he  took  up  her  bag, 
and  led  the  way  toward  a  little  group  of  men 
standing  near  the  shipping  window.  One  was 
a  short,  rotund,  blue-uniformed  individual, 
and  behind  him  the  old  negro  stopped  and 
gave  an  apologetic  cough  which  could  not  fail 
to  attract  attention.  The  rotund  officer 
turned,  and  Sybil  saw  that  he  wore  on  his 
cap,  in  letters  of  somewhat  tarnished  gold,  the 
word,  "Captain." 

He  recognized  the  old  colored  man.  "Well, 
Uncle  Enoch,  what  you  want?  What  you 
botherin'  me  for  now  ?"  he  asked,  with  a  face 
of  extreme  seriousness. 

The  old  man  bobbed  in  a  queer  little  bow. 

"Please,  sir,  Marse  Cap'n,"  he  said,  "I  done 

brung  you  a  young  lady,  sir !    Dis  yer's  her !" 

He  jerked  the  thumb  of  his  left  hand  over  his 

30 


ABOARD    THE    EMMA    NILES 

shoulder,  and  the  Captain's  twinkling  eyes 
met  Sybil's. 

"Good  morning,  Miss,"  he  said,  lifting  his 
cap.  "If  you're  going  on  my  boat  I  hope  you'll 
allow  me  the  privilege  of  looking  after  your 
comfort  and  safety!" 

Sybil  liked  the  elaborate  courtesy;  its  evi- 
dent sincerity  was  charming. 

"I  am  going  to  a  place  called  Montford," 
she  said,  while  she  paid  the  grinning  driver, 
who  was  evidently  delighted  at  having  suc- 
cessfully fulfilled  his  trust. 

"Well,  now,"  said  the  Captain,  "that's  quite 
a  coincidence !  I  don't  often  have  two  charm- 
ing young  ladies  for  Montford !  I  reckon  I'll 
have  to  run  up  some  extra  bunting  and  mark 
this  day  down  on  the  ship's  log  in  red  ink! 
Just  as  soon  as  we  get  out  of  the  Basin,  Miss, 
I  shall  be  glad  of  your  company  in  the  pilot- 
house !" 

It  was  not  until  an  hour  or  two  later  that 
her  curiosity  concerning  the  pilot-house  was 
satisfied.  First  the  boat  had  to  be  swung 
around,  then  thread  its  way  out  of  the 
crowded  inner  harbor  which  the  Captain  had 
called  "the  Basin,"  and  past  the  fort  on  the 
right — which  a  steward  told  her  was  the  one 
31 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

from  which  the  Star  Spangled  Banner  had  so 
bravely  floated  on  a  memorable  morning — 
and,  at  last,  down  the  broad  Chesapeake. 

Then  it  was  that  a  white-coated  steward 
approached  her,  as  she  sat  on  the  little  bench 
that  ran  along  the  sides  of  the  boat,  well  up 
in  the  bow. 

'"Sense  me.  Miss !  De  Cap'n  say  he  sends 
his  complimints,  an'  say  he'd  be  very  glad  of 
yo'  comp'ny  up  in  de  pilot-house." 

Sybil,  all  the  while  wondering  how  on  earth 
it  happened  that  she  should  be  singled  out 
for  such  an  honor,  and  what  the  twins  would 
say  when  they  heard  of  it,  and  thinking  how 
very  nice  sea-captains  were,  followed  the  man 
into  the  cabin  and  up  a  little  narrow  flight  of 
stairs. 

The  Captain's  cheerful  voice  greeted  her 
almost  before  the  crown  of  her  hat  rose  above 
the  top  of  the  flight  that  led  from  the  deck 
to  the  pilot-house. 

"Come  right  along  up,  my  dear  young  lady ! 
You  see  you  ain't  the  first  one  here !" 

Then,  when  Sybil  stood  on  the  deck  of  the 

narrow  little  place  that  seemed  so  curious  a 

mixture  of  nautical  comfort  and  business,  he 

added,  "This  here's  the  other  young  lady  I 

32 


ABOARD   THE   EMMA   NILES 

was  speakin'  about  that's  also  goin'  to  Mont- 
ford.  I'm  pleased  to  make  you  acquainted 
with  Miss  Molly  Rutherford,  Miss " 

Sybil,  through  her  surprise,  found  herself 
saying,  mechanically,  "I  am  Miss  Crawford, 
Sybil  Crawford." 

The  girl  who  was  seated  on  the  leather-cov- 
ered seat  against  the  wall  of  the  pilot-house 
was  openly  smiling. 

"The  Captain  makes  us  all  acquainted,"  she 
said,  and  Sybil  at  once  knew  that  she  should 
like  her.  "We're  all  his  sweethearts,  whether 
we  sail  with  him  once  or  a  hundred  times!" 

The  jovial  Captain  chuckled,  and  turned 
to  his  work  of  taking  the  boat  down  the 
Bay,  first  saying,  "That's  right !  That's  right ! 
Every  young  lady  that  comes  on  my  boat  is 
my  sweetheart,  and  I  look  after  every  one  the 
same  as  if  she  were  my  own  daughter !  Just 
make  yourselves  at  home,  young  ladies !  The 
boat's  your  own  while  you're  aboard,  from 
hold  to  pilot-house!" 

"Do  sit  down  here,"  Miss  Rutherford  said, 
patting  the  place  beside  her.  Then,  when 
Sybil  had  seated  herself,  she  whispered,  "Isn't 
the  Captain  an  old  darling?  He's  been  taking 
these  boats  up  and  down  the  Bay  ever  since 
33 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

my  mother  was  a  girl,  ana  he's  known  far  and 
wide.  There's  not  a  father  nor  mother  from 
one  end  of  his  route  to  another  who  will  not 
allow  their  daughters  to  travel  alone  on  the 
old  Emma  Niles;  because,  whether  he  knew 
us  before  or  not,  we  are  under  his  especial 
care  the  moment  we  come  aboard  his  boat! 
Isn't  he  an  old  dear?" 

"I  have  never  met  anyone  the  least  bit 
like  him!"  said  Sybil. 

The  other  girl  laughed.  "And  you  were, 
consequently,  unprepared?  Well,  he's  the 
best  in  the  world,  but  there  are  other  captains 
on  the  Chesapeake  nearly  as  dear!  They  are 
a  type,  like  nothing  else  the  world  over,  and 
all  just  splendid." 

"It's  delightful,"  said   Sybil. 

"You  know  the  Bay?  No?  Then  I  must 
show  you  the  sights,"  the  other  said. 

They  chatted  on.  Miss  Rutherford  showing 
her  the  places  of  interest :  Annapolis ;  verdant 
Kent  Island  on  the  left;  then,  after  dinner, 
the  many  landings,  the  old  houses,  half  seen 
through  the  delicate  mist  of  budding  leaves 
and  opening  fruit-blossoms,  of  which  Miss 
Rutherford  knew  all  the  names  and  most  of 
the  history. 

34 


ABOARD   THE   EMMA   NILES 

"Oh,  yes,"  she  explained,  as  they  leaned 
over  the  railing  to  watch  the  negroes  taking 
off  the  freight  at  one  of  the  landings.  "I 
know  them  all,  just  as  people  who  live  in 
the  city  know  all  the  names  of  the  streets !  I 
have  been  away — at  boarding-school  and 
abroad — nearly  as  much  as  I  have  been  at 
home;  but  I  suppose  knowing  all  about  the 
places  and  the  families  was  born  in  me.  I 
know  them  as  a  matter  of  course." 

After  a  while  Miss  Rutherford  said,  "Do 
you  know,  I  see  your  name  very  often,  in  my 
brother  Jack's  letters  from  Harvard.  He  has 
a  friend  there — Don  Crawford,  the  End." 

Sybil  flushed  quickly,  and  her  eyes  sparkled. 
"Don !  He's  my  brother !  And  you  are  Jack 
Rutherford's  sister  ?  Why,  he  and  Donald  are 
bosom  friends,  and  room-mates!" 

Miss  Rutherford  held  out  her  hand,  as  if 
they  had  just  met,  and  Sybil  grasped  it.  "I 
knew  I  should  like  you !"  she  cried,  and  both 
laughed. 

"I  should  think  so.    Don  Crawford's  sister ! 
You'll  have  to  call  me  by  my  first  name,  be- 
cause we  have  only  just  missed  knowing  each 
other  for  two  years !    I'm  Molly  Rutherford." 
35 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"Oh,  I  wonder  if  you  live  anywhere  near 
where  I  am  going  ?"  Sybil  cried. 

Molly  looked  at  her.  "Captain  Woollett 
said  you  were  going  to  get  off  at  Montford 
Landing,  but  I  think  he  must  have  been 
mistaken." 

Sybil's  eyes  opened  wide.  "But  I  am!  I 
am  going  to  get  off  at  Montford!" 

"Are  you  sure?  Because  that  landing  is 
only  used  by  two  places,  our  own  Fordham 
and  the  Crocketts'  Montebello!" 

"Well,  but  that's  where  I  am  going — to 
Montebello,  you  know!" 

Molly's  eyes  opened  very  wide,  and  a  curi- 
ous little  shadow  of  change  passed  over  her 
face.  It  was  as  if  she  were  very,  very  much 
surprised,  quite  to  the  extent  of  being  unable 
to  hide  it  or  to  maintain  her  usual  composure. 

It  was  altogether  so  strange,  so  unexpected 
a  look,  that,  insensibly,  Sybil's  heart  thumped 
and  she  began  to  feel  alarmed. 

"What  makes  you  so  surprised  ?"  she  asked, 
leaning  forward  a  little.  "I  am  certainly 
going  to  Montebello;  I  am  going  to  visit 
Colonel  and  Miss  Crockett!" 

"Visit?    Visit  the  Crocketts?" 
36 


ABOARD   THE   EMMA   NILES 

"Why,  yes !  Is  there  anything  remarkable 
in  that?" 

For  a  long  moment  Molly  continued  to  stare 
at  her  as  if  she  still  were  not  sure  of  having 
heard  aright.  Then,  with  evident  effort,  she 
recovered  her  composure ;  and  if  it  had  seemed 
strange  before  that  her  look  had  sought  Sybil's 
face  earnestly,  it  was  even  stranger  that  now 
her  eyes  determinedly  looked  away.  At  last 
she  evidently  became  aware  of  Sybil's  grow- 
ing alarm,  and  said,  as  if  to  reassure  her: 

"Oh,  I  had  not  thought  of  your  visiting 
at  Montebello.    We  shall  be  neighbors." 

But  the  effort  to  appear  natural  was  so 
marked  that  Sybil  could  not  let  it  pass  quite  so 
easily.  There  was  a  constrained  silence,  dur- 
ing which  the  two  girls  watched  the  passing 
shore;  then  Sybil,  taking  courage,  turned  to 
the  other  and  said : 

"Won't  you  please  tell  me?  I  am  going 
there  a  stranger,  and  I  do  not  know  a  thing 
of  what  I  am  to  meet,  except  that  Colonel 
Crockett  and  his  sister  are  old,  and  want  a 
young  person  in  their  house.  They  are  cous- 
ins of  my  father's,  and  Colonel  Crockett  wrote 
to  him  and  asked  for  a  visit  from  one  of  his 
daughters,  and  here  I  am!     If  there  is  any- 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

thing  very  strange  about  it,  won't  you  please 
tell  me?" 

Molly  Rutherford  flushed.  "I  am  ashamed 
to  have  been  so — so  stupid  about  showing  my 
surprise,"  she  said.  "But  if  your  father  is  a 
cousin  of  Colonel  Crockett's,  you  and  I  may 
count  on  being  related,  too,  in  a  way!  Isn't 
that  lovely?    One  of  my  great  aunts  married 

into    that    family "    and,    seeing    Sybil's 

raised  eyebrows  of  surprise,  she  laughed — 
"and  that  makes  us  related,  you  know,  accord- 
ing to  the  Maryland  and  Virginia  way  of 
reckoning !" 

It  did  not  seem  necessary  that  she  should 
explain  that  her  relationship  to  the  Crawford 
family  was  only  an  adopted  one;  somehow, 
since  she  left  them,  her  being  one  of  the 
Crawfords,  one  of  their  very  own,  seemed 
far  more  substantially  a  fact  than  it  had  even 
in  South  Wickham. 

"It's  a  very  nice  way !"  she  laughed.  "But, 
all  the  more,  won't  you  please  tell  me  some-, 
thing  about  Montebello  ?  Why  does  my  going 
there  seem  so  strange?  You  haven't  yet  told 
me  that,  you  know !" 

Molly  turned  her  head  away  and  again 
looked  over  the  water  toward  the  wooded 
38 


ABOARD   THE   EMMA   NILES 

shores.  But  after  a  thoughtful  pause  she 
looked  back  at  Sybil. 

"Forgive  me,"  she  said,  "please  forgive  me ! 
I  don't  mean  to  be  rude !  I  ought  not  to  have 
seemed  surprised  when  you  told  me  you  were 
going  to  visit  there.  It  was  a  mistake  on 
my  part,  and  the  only  way  I  can  rectify  it,  or 
partly  undo  it,  is  to  say  nothing  else!" 

"You  have  said  nothing  at  all!"  Sybil  re- 
plied. "It  is  just — I  don't  mean  to  be  rude, 
either — it  is  just  your  not  saying  anything 
that  makes  me  think  there  must  be  something 
strange  about  Montebello  or  the  Crocketts !" 

Molly  drew  a  deep  breath  and  shook  her 
head.  "It  was  very  wrong  of  me,  very  fool- 
ish, very — gauche!  But  if  I  say  anything  at 
all  I  might  give  you  a  wrong  impression ;  and 
as  you  are  really  going  there,  that  would  not 
be  fair,  would  it?    Nor  kind?" 

Sybil  had  grown  a  Httle  pale,  as  she  did 
whenever  she  was  excited  or  troubled.  "Are 
you  sure — please  forgive  me,  but  are  you  sure 
that  you  are  not  doing  that  anyway?" 

Then  Molly  seemed  to  rally  all  her  tact  and 
kindliness,  and,  by  an  effort  that  was  evi- 
dently great,  her  usual  manner;  she  even 
laughed.    "Oh  dear,"  she  said,  "I  think  I  am 

39 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

giving  you  a  very  wrong  impression  indeed! 
And  all  I  meant  was  not  to  give  you  any 
at  all!" 

"I  am  beginning  to  think  Colonel  Crockett 
must  be  an  ogre — and  I  have  not  brought  a 
beanstalk  with  me!  I  won't  be  able  to  run 
away !"  Sybil  tried  to  speak  lightly,  but  there 
was  an  unusual  feeling  of  fear  or  dread  at 
her  heart ;  and  try  as  she  would  she  could  not 
quite  keep  her  lips  from  trembling. 

But  Molly  laughed.  "Oh,  he  isn't  an  ogre ! 
There,  I  may  as  well  say  it!  I  really  don't 
know  what  he  is !  His  place  is  next  to  Grand- 
father's, and,  as  I  said,  there  are  ties  of 
relationship  between  our  families;  but  really, 
the  people  in  the  county  do  not  see  very 
much  of  him,  and  he  does  not  have  any  guests. 
Won't  you  please,  ple-e-ease  believe  that  is 
all  I  know?" 

"Why,  yes,"  Sybil  replied,  a  little  coldly. 
"If  you  say  so.  Will  you  tell  me  the  name 
of  the  white  house  we  can  see  through  that 
orchard  ?" 

But  poor  Molly  groaned.     "Oh,  Oh,  what 

does  make   me  so  unutterably  stupid?"  she 

wailed.    "I  have  offended  you,  and  you  think 

I  am  a  wretch !"    Impulsively  she  put  an  arm 

40 


ABOARD   THE   EMMA   NILES 

about  Sybil.  "Look  here !  We  really  are 
cousins,  you  know,  in  an  ever-so-distant  way; 
and  I  think  I  can  dimly  remember  hearing 
Grandfather  mention  a  Mr.  Crawford  who 
used  to  be  down  here  sometimes.  Our  place 
is  next  to  Montebello,  and  Mamma  and  Jack 
and  I  live  there  with  Grandfather,  my  father's 
father,  when  we  are  home.  Now,  if  you  ever, 
ever  need  Grandfather,  or  me  either,  or  get 
lonely  at  Montebello,  or  anything,  I  promise 
you,  both  for  Grandfather  and  myself,  that 
v/e  will  come  to  the  Colonel's  at  any  minute 
of  day  or  night  you  send  for  us.  Will  you 
remember  that?" 

Her  earnestness  was  so  evident  and  so  hon- 
est, that,  although  her  own  fears  were  really  in- 
creased by  it,  Sybil  was  none  the  less  touched. 
It  was  good,  at  any  rate,  to  have  made  a 
friend  who  would  be  near  at  hand.  "I  will 
remember  it,"  she  said,  pressing  Molly's  hand, 
"And  I  knew  I  should  like  you !" 

They  laughed,  relieved  at  the  ending  of  the 
strange  little  scene;  perhaps  their  thoughts 
remained  on  the  subject,  but  both  made  a 
brave  effort  to  appear  as  if  it  Were  forgotten. 

Molly  chattered  gayly,  and  everything  she 
said  was  of  interest  to  Sybil.  The  boat  ran 
41 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

nearer  the  shores  as  it  drew  farther  down  the 
Bay,  stopping  often  at  the  wharves  which 
Molly  called  "landings,"  and  threaded  its 
way  up  and  down  the  inlets  or  rivers  where 
the  tides  rose  and  fell,  and  where  orchards, 
and  fields  that  would  later  be  verdant  with 
oats  or  corn,  came  down  almost  to  the  water's 
edge.  The  little  steamer  went  on  for  an 
hour  or  so,  past  low  shores  with  growths  of 
pine  and  orchards  of  pink  bloom.  At  last,  it 
turned  sharply  into  a  rather  wide  inlet. 

Molly  stood  up  with  a  flush  on  her  face. 
"This  is  home !"  she  said.  "This  inlet  is 
Cherry-pit  Creek,  and  all  that  land  on  our  left 
is  Montebello.  Look!  Look  through  those 
pines !  There  are  some  of  the  buildings — ^you 
can't  see  the  house  from  this  side.  Our  own 
Fordham  is  farther  up.  There — do  you  see 
that  tiny  house  up  there  ?  That's  the  wharf ! 
And  that  roof  away  to  the  left?  That's  the 
Hermit's !" 

"Who  is  the  Hermit?"  Sybil  asked. 

Molly  shook  her  head.  "No  one  knows! 
I  don't  know  anyone  who  has  ever  seen  him. 
That  will  be  a  mystery  for  you  to  unravel." 

Sybil  laughed,  remembering  the  twins  and 
their  longing  for  the  mysterious;  but  in  a 
42 


ABOARD   THE   EMMA    NILES 

minute  or  two  the  boat  turned  toward  the 
little  landing,  as  like  half  a  dozen  others  they 
had  already  passed  as  if  all  were  made  on 
one  pattern.  The  Captain  came  down  from 
the  bridge  toward  them. 

"Well,  young  ladies !  I  hope  you  have  had 
a  pleasant  sail,  and  I  hope  I  may  have  the 
honor  of  yo'  company  many  times  again.  The 
little  or  Emma  Niles  is  proud  to  carry  such 
charmin'  freight!" 

Molly  laughed.  "Captain,  have  you  ever 
been  in  Ireland?"  she  asked. 

The  Captain  shook  his  finger  at  her.  "Ah ! 
Now  you're  referring  to  that  Blarney  Stone 
I've  heard  tell  of !  A-a-a-h !  No,  Miss !  The 
good  ol'  Chesapeake's  enough  of  a  sail  for 
me!  An'  jest  let  me  tell  you,  we  don't  need 
any  Irishmen  to  come  along  an'  tell  us  what 
to  whisper  in  the  ears  of  the  pretty  girls !" 

He  chuckled  delightedly  at  his  own  humor, 
and  the  girls  laughed.  Molly  was  quite  un- 
abashed at  his  teasing.  "Mind  you  keep  all  the 
best  speeches  for  me.  Captain !"  she  laugh- 
ingly warned  him. 

The  Captain  put  his  head  on  one  side,  and 
seemed  to  consider.  "Well,  now,  I  wouldn't 
like  to  stir  up  any  jealous  feelin's  amongst 

43 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

the  others,  Miss  Molly!"  Then,  as  if  he 
feared  Sybil  might  be  feeling  rather  left  out, 
he  turned  to  her  with  a  little  bow.  "I  hope 
you  will  some  day  be  patronizing  our  ol' 
Emma  Niles  again,  my  dear  young  lady." 

Molly  answered  for  her.  "Miss  Crawford 
is  going  to  visit  at  Montebello,  Captain  Wool- 
lett,"  she  said. 

Sybil's  heart  gave  a  leap  as  she  saw  the 
Captain  look  quickly  at  Molly  as  if  to  make 
sure  that  she  had  spoken  in  earnest;  it  was 
quite  evident  that  he,  too,  saw  something 
unusual  in  the  fact  of  her  going  to  Monte- 
bello. But  he  had  his  feelings,  whatever  they 
might  be,  under  better  control  than  Molly. 
After  the  first  glance,  the  first  expression  of 
surprise,  he  turned  to  Sybil  with  a  smile. 

"Indeed!  Goin'  to  visit  at  Montebello! 
Well,  well!  It's  been  a  right  smart  o'  time 
since  I  laid  eyes  on  the  Colonel,  or  Miss 
Sophia  either!  I  hope  you'll  find  them  both 
enjoyin'  the  best  of  health.  Miss,  and  will 
tender  them  Captain  Woollett's  best  regards. 
I  daresay  Miss  Sophia's  as  charmin'  as  ever !" 

In  spite  of  his  good  intentions  Sybil  was 
sure  she  could  detect  something  curious  in  his 
manner.  She  had  not  time  for  further  specu- 
44 


ABOARD   THE   EMMA   NILES 

lation,  however;  and,  indeed,  the  crowding 
of  emotions — wonder,  curiosity,  and  a  touch 
of  homesickness  and  uneasiness — would  have 
made  it  too  difficult  for  her  to  ask  another 
question.  They  had  come  to  the  wharf  and 
Molly  had  run  to  the  companion-way;  there 
the  Captain  and  Sybil  found  her  excitedly 
jumping  up  and  down  and  waving  both  hands 
at  a  tall  and  stately  white-haired  gentleman 
on  the  wharf;  and  as  soon  as  the  gangway 
had  been  run  out  she  was  across  and  in  his 
arms.  The  Captain  helped  Sybil  down,  and 
greeted  the  white-haired  gentleman. 

"Good  evenin'.  Major  Rutherford,  sir,"  he 
said,  shaking  him  heartily  by  the  hand.  "I 
brought  your  young  lady  down  safely  to  you, 
sir,  as  you  see!" 

"Trust  you  for  that.  Captain,"  Mr.  Ruther- 
ford said.  Then  he  looked  at  Sybil,  as  if  he 
ought  to  know  her,  but  could  not,  somehow, 
quite  place  her ;  afterwards  Sybil  remembered 
the  look  on  his  face,  and  it  seemed  to  her 
that  it  was;  one  almost  of  fright. 

"This  is  Miss  Sybil  Crawford,  Grand- 
father," Molly  introduced  her,  "and  she  is 
going  to  visit  Colonel  and  Miss  Crockett." 

Mr.  Rutherford  took  Sybil's  hand,  and 
45 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

looked  down  at  her  with  drawn  brows.  "Miss 
— Sybil — Crawford!"  he  repeated,  emphasiz- 
ing the  first  name,  and  dwelling  upon  the 
whole  of  it  as  if  it  amazed  him.  "Miss — 
Sybil — Crawford!  And  going  to  visit  at 
Montebello!  Well,  well!  Your  name  recalls 
many  things  to  me,  my  dear  young  lady!  I 
think  I  used  to  know  your  father — Bob  Craw- 
ford—didn't I?" 

At  the  mention  of  the  beloved  name,  and  the 
memory  of  all  it  meant,  Sybil  felt  her  eyes 
smart  as  if  tears  were  very  near.  It  was 
really  most  trying  to  have  everybody  look  at 
her  so  queerly,  and  seem  so  surprised  that  she 
should  be  there! 

"Father  used  to  stay  here  a  good  deal  when 
he  was  a  boy,  I  think,  sir,"  she  said. 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  Mr.  Rutherford,  but  in  a 
tone  that  sounded  strangely  sad.     "He   did 

indeed,  with !     And  he  named  his  little 

girl  Sybilla !    Well,  well,  well !" 

Sybil  felt  that  if  anybody  else  looked  at 
her  in  that  way  she  should  certainly  burst 
into  tears;  but  fortunately  the  jovial  Captain 
had  to  bid  them  farewell.  He  shook  hands 
with  Mr.  Rutherford  again,  then  took  off  his 
cap  and  held  it  stiffly  in  front  of  him,  while, 
46 


ABOARD    THE    EMMA   NILES 

with  his  heels  together,  he  made  the  quaintest 
Httle  formal,  dancing-school  bows  to  Sybil 
and  Molly. 

"I  regret  to  bid  you  farewell,  young  ladies ! 
May  your  days  be  full  of  joy  and  your  nights 
of  pleasant  dreams!" 

Then,  evidently  satisfied  that  the  properties 
had  been  suitably  attended  to,  he  dropped  his 
unwonted  formality  and  returned  to  his  usual 
jolly  manner.  "And  if  either  of  you  young 
ladies  thinks  of  elopin'  one  of  these  days,  the 
good  little  ol'  Emma  Niles  and  her  Captain 
will  be  at  the  young  gentleman's  service !" 

With  that  he  chuckled,  tremendously  pleased 
with  his  own  pleasantry,  which  had  probably 
been  used  on  many  another  occasion,  stepped 
briskly  up  the  gang-way,  and  in  a  moment  the 
bell  from  the  pilot-house  showed  that  he  had 
returned  to  his  post  of  duty. 

Sybil  looked  after  the  boat  with  dancing 
eyes.  "Oh,  I  do  think  he's  the  funniest,  dear- 
est old  gentleman  I  ever  saw  in  all  my  life !" 
she  said. 

Mr.  Rutherford  joined  in  Molly's  laugh. 

"He's  a  great  character,  is  the  Captain,"  he 
said,  "known  from  one  end  of  the  Bay  to  the 
other ;  and  there's  not  a  soul  along  the  shores 
47 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

but  would  trust  him  with  their  last  penny! 
And  if  I  had  to  be  on  the  Bay  in  a  fog  or  a 
thunderstorm  or  even  a  tornado,  I'd  rather  be 
with  Captain  Woollett  than  anyone  else  I 
know !" 

Then  he  turned  again  to  Sybil.  "Well,  Miss 
Sybil,  I  see  the  Montebello  carriage  out  yon- 
der, and  Molly  and  I  are  going  to  put  you 
safely  into  it !" 

He  led  the  way  past  the  little  wharf-house, 
and  behind  it  to  where  two  carriages  and  an 
open  wagon  were  waiting.  Molly's  trunk  was 
already  in  the  wagon ;  and  the  drivers  of  the 
carriages  touched  their  hats  with  their  whips. 
To  Sybil's  wonder,  the  Rutherfords  led  her 
to  the  second  carriage,  to  which  was  harnessed 
the  most  beautiful  pair  of  horses  she  had  ever 
seen.  As  her  grandfather  was  about  to  open 
the  door  for  Sybil,  Molly  touched  him  on  the 
arm,  and  said,  in  a  tone  so  low  that  the 
negroes  could  not  hear: 

"Grandfather,  I  have  promised  Sybil  for 
you  and  myself  that  if  she  should  ever  want 
us — get  lonely,  or  anything — and  send  for  us, 
we  will  go  to  her !" 

Mr.  Rutherford  exchanged  a  quick,  queer 
little  look  with  Molly,  and  then  said,  "Cer- 
48 


ABOARD   THE   EMMA   NILES 

tainly,  my  dear.  That  was  just  right."  And, 
after  a  moment's  pause,  he  added,  "And  Molly 
and  I  will  give  ourselves  the  pleasure  of  call- 
ing on  Miss  Sophia  and  yourself  before  many 
days." 

"Oh,  please  do,"  Sybil  said,  quickly.  It 
made  her  happier  to  feel  that  there  was  some- 
thing she  could  count  upon  and  look  forward 
to;  for  her  fears  and  dread  were  increasing 
as  she  came  nearer  to  Montebello.  "Please 
come  to  see  me,  and  do  come  soon !" 

Then,  almost  before  she  could  wave  good- 
bye, the  carriage  door  had  been  closed,  and 
the  horses  had  started.  She  was  off  for  the 
unknown ! 


SYBILLA 

IN  those  days  between  the  arrival  of  Colonel 
Crockett's  first  letter  and  her  departure  for 
Montebello,  Sybil,  through  all  her  loneliness 
and  the  choke  of  parting  from  the  family, 
had  been  upheld  by  the  consciousness  of  her 
self-sacrifice,  by  the  thought  that  she  should 
be  able  to  prove  herself  a  worthy  daughter  of 
the  Crawfords'  training,  and  that  she  was 
going  to  be  of  service,  perhaps  very  unpleasant 
and  difficult  service,  to  two  old  people  who 
needed  her ;  and  there  is  always  a  satisfaction 
that  accompanies  self-sacrifice. 

But  gradually,  because  of  Molly  Ruther- 
ford's amazement  and  determined  silence, 
Captain  Woollett's  expression  when  he  heard 
of  her  visit  to  Montebello,  and  Major  Ruther- 
ford's words  and  looks,  her  satisfaction  had 
given  place  to  a  feeling  of  real  uneasiness,  if 
not  of  actual  dread.  All  her  life  she  had  been 
50 


SYBILLA 

fearless ;  her  companionship  with  the  boys  had 
made  her  that.  But  this  new  dread  was 
of  something  mysterious,  something  she  could 
not  see,  could  not  touch,  could  not  find  out 
about.  It  was  not  pleasant;  and  when  the 
door  of  the  carriage  closed,  and  she  found 
herself  embarked  on  the  last  part  of  her  jour- 
ney, her  heart  was  beating  painfully,  and  for 
a  fleeting  instant  she  wished  she  might  escape, 
run  back  to  the  boat  and  the  friendly  Captain, 
back  to  Dad  and  Mother-dear  and  the  be- 
loved home  in  South  Wickham. 

But  Sybil  came  of  a  courageous  race,  a  race 
which  had  helped  to  win  the  wilderness  for 
the  nation,  to  make  of  it  a  land  of  smiling 
plenty  and  of  ease  and  safety;  a  race  which 
had  given  its  sons  to  battle,  often  to  meet 
death  in  the  face,  and  its  daughters  to  that 
greater  agony  of  waiting  bravely  at  home. 
After  her  first  inevitable  pangs  of  doubt  and 
wonder  and  fear,  her  usual  courage  returned, 
and  she  began  to  take  note — first  of  the  car- 
riage, then  of  the  country  she  was  being 
driven  through. 

At  last  the  horses  passed  between  the  tall 
stone  posts  of  a  gateway,  and  were  trotting 
swiftly  up  a  winding  road  through  what 
51 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

seemed  to  Sybil  a  veritable  forest  of  oaks. 
She  had  never  seen  such  trees,  almost  as  large 
of  girth  as  the  elms  on  the  village  street  at 
home,  their  great  round  boles  seemingly  all 
of  one  size.  Then,  through  the  glade,  she 
saw  a  gleam  of  white,  and  her  heart  leaped 
again.     She  was  there ! 

The  "great  house"  of  Montebello  had  been, 
in  its  day,  one  of  the  famous  show-places  of 
the  rich  old  South,  It  was  white,  and  there 
stretched  across  its  front  a  broad,  stone-paved 
portico  whose  roof  was  supported  on  massive 
white  pillars ;  beautifully  carved  white  railings 
followed  every  turn  and  lift  of  roof;  and  at 
its  back  was  a  grove  of  oaks,  while  many 
acres  of  lawn  stretched  before  it;  and  from 
all  of  its  front  windows  could  be  seen  the 
gleaming  waters  of  the  Chesapeake.  Sybil 
was  almost  breathless  at  its  unexpected  beauty 
and  grandeur! 

When  the  carriage  drew  up  before  the  cen- 
tral door — for  there  were  three  in  the  front  of 
the  house — several  people  stood  there  await- 
ing her — an  aged  negro  man-servant,  a  col- 
ored maid  in  neat  print  dress  and  snowy,  ca- 
pacious apron,  and  the  dearest  little  old  lady 
52 


SYBILLA 

in  the  world.  At  least,  that  is  the  description 
sh6  afterward  wrote  Donald. 

When  Sybil  stepped  down  from  the  car- 
riage, Miss  Sophia  fluttered  forward.  All  her 
movements  were  quick,  bird-like  flutterings; 
her  little  hands,  her  head,  her  tripping  feet 
never  moved  slowly.  Now  she  was  trembling 
with  excitement,  her  cheeks  were  flushed,  her 
eyes  were  bright  with  tears.  She  put  her 
hands  on  Sybil's  arms,  and  looked  up  into  her 
face. 

"Oh,  my  dear,  my  dear!"  she  said.  "I  am 
so  glad  you  were  willing  to  come !" 

Then  she  stood  on  tiptoe,  and  gave  Sybil 
a  timid,  pecking  little  kiss  on  the  cheek. 

"You  are  Miss  Sophia,"  Sybil  said,  "and  I 
am  Sybil." 

Miss  Sophia  looked  up  at  her  quickly, 
timidly,  and  then  as  quickly  over  her  shoulder, 
as  if  she  feared  someone  might  hear.  "Sybil ! 
You  are  Sybil  ?    Your  name  is — Sybil  ?" 

Sybil  could  not  restrain  a  smile.  "Why, 
yes,"  she  said,  "I  am  Sybil  Crawford,  you 
know !" 

Little  Miss  Sophia  was  nervously  clasping 
and  unclasping  her  hands.  She  looked  up 
again  into  Sybil's  face,  and  laughed.  "Yes, 
53 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

yes,  of  course,"  she  said,  almost  apologetically. 
"I — I  think  Cousin  Robert  forgot  to  mention 
your  name.    And  it  is — Sybil?" 

She  had  a  quaint  little  way  of  putting  her 
head  on  one  side  when  she  asked  a  question 
that  was  unfailingly  diverting. 

Sybil  laughed ;  she  wanted  to  take  the  dear 
little  old  lady  in  her  arms  and  give  her  a  re- 
assuring hug,  although  it  seemed  absurd  that 
she  should  really  be  as  timid  as  she  looked, 
here  in  broad  daylight,  with  the  sun  gleaming 
on  the  marble  flags  of  the  Montebello  portico, 
and  people  all  about.  Insensibly  Sybil's  own 
fears  and  doubts  and  misgivings  had  vanished 
as  completely  as  if  they  had  been  dreams ! 

Miss  Sophia  seemed  to  recall  her  duties  as 
hostess,  and  gave  another  queer,  timid  little 
start.  "You  have  come  a  long  way,  my  dear," 
she  said,  as  if  she  were  greatly  impressed  with 
the  magnitude  of  Sybil's  journey.  Little  Miss 
Sophia  was,  as  Sybil  very  soon  found  out, 
impressed  with  everything  which  lay  beyond 
her  own  experience.  "You  have  come  a  ve-ry 
long  way!  And  all  to  keep  two  old  people 
company!  Oh,  I  was  so  glad" — Miss  Sophia 
again  clasped  her  little  hands  in  front  of  her 
— "I  was  so  ve-ry  glad  when  dear  Brother 
54 


SYBILLA 

asked  Cousin  Robert  to  let  you  visit  us.  We 
have  not  had  a  visitor  for " 

Then  she  stopped,  as  if  the  sound  of  the 
words  had  alarmed  her  again,  and  once  more 
looked  over  her  shoulder  as  if  afraid  of  some- 
one who  might  be  listening. 

"But  you  must  be  ve-ry  tired,  my  dear," 
she  said,  "and  I  must  take  you  up  to  your 
room  to  rest.  I  know  all  young  ladies  like 
rest!" 

Sybil  followed  her,  but  laughed.  "Oh,  no, 
indeed.  Miss  Sophia,"  she  said.  "We  do  not 
like  rest  when  we  have  just  come  to  a  place. 
We  want  to  get  acquainted  first !" 

Then  Miss  Sophia  turned  in  the  doorway, 
evidently  a  little  distressed.  "Acquainted — 
Oh,  yes,  my  dear.  I  hope  we  shall  be  very 
well  acquainted,  ve-ry  well  indeed !  And  dear 
Brother  hopes  so,  too,  and  is  so  ve-ry  sorry 
that  his  gout  is  bad  to-day.  He  would  have 
come  out  to  meet  you  if  his  gout  had  not  been 
so  very,  ve-ry  bad;  but  he  will  give  himself 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  at  supper.  And  I 
will  take  you  to  your  room — to  rest!" 

Sybil  smiled,  and  followed  Miss  Sophia 
into  the  high,  cool  hall  which,  like  the  portico, 
was  paved  with  squares  of  white  stone,  and 

55 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

seemed  to  Sybil,  accustomed  to  the  crowded 
coziness  of  the  doctor's  house,  very  cold  and 
un-homelike.  It  had  a  high-arched  ceiling, 
enormous  doors  and  windows,  and  book-cases 
built  into  the  walls,  with  the  books  all  for- 
biddingly closed  behind  glass  doors.  A  broad 
staircase  went  up  from  one  side,  and  the  col- 
ored maid  was  already  mounting  the  steps 
with  Sybil's  bag.  Miss  Sophia  followed,  but 
when  they  were  half  way  up  something  hap- 
pened, and  the  little  lady  stopped,  wavered, 
and  turned,  trembling  and  pale. 

Sybil  was  too  surprised  to  move  or  speak. 
A  thundering,  stentorian  call  had  sounded 
through  the  house,  coming  apparently  from 
one  of  the  rooms  below,  a  roar  that  seemed 
completely  to  fill  every  inch  of  space,  to  make 
the  very  air  tremble,  to  echo  and  re-echo  from 
every  corner  of  the  hall  and  stairway.  The 
syllables  that  floated  forth  on  that  mighty 
current  of  sound  were: 

"So— phi— a!" 

Miss  Sophia's  poor  little  hands  were  wring- 
ing each  other  nervously,  and  her  curls  were 
shaking. 

"O  dear,  O  dear!     I  think  perhaps  dear 
Brother  must  want  me!"  she  said. 
56 


SYBILLA 

And  with  no  further  explanation,  she 
tripped  down  stairs  as  quickly  as  a  child,  and 
trotted  across  the  hall  in  the  direction  the 
sound  had  come  from!  She  reminded  Sybil, 
for  all  the  world,  of  the  White  Rabbit  trotting 
off  in  search  of  his  gloves,  and  saying,  "Oh, 
the  Duchess,  the  Duchess!  Oh!  Won't  she 
be  savage  if  I've  kept  her  waiting!"  and  she 
scarcely  knew  whether  she  felt  more  like 
laughter  or  dismay. 

There  was  nothing  to  do  but  follow  the 
maid,  who  was  standing  at  the  top  of  the 
stairs  looking  badly  frightened.  Sybil  longed 
to  question  her,  but  felt  that  she  could  not 
quite  do  anything  like  that ;  and  the  maid  only 
said,  as  she  opened  the  door  of  a  bedroom : 

"De  Colonel  sure  has  got  de  gout  rale  bad 
to-day." 

It  occurred  to  Sybil  that  the  Colonel  had 
something  more  than  the  gout,  something  in 
the  way  of  a  temper!  She  was  beginning  to 
wonder  whether  the  old  gentleman's  peculiari- 
ties might  not  have  had  something  to  do  with 
the  way  Molly  and  the  Captain  and  even 
Major  Rutherford  had  looked  at  her  when 
they  heard  she  was  going  to  visit  him.  Her 
reception  had  been  curious  enough,  and  she 
57 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

laughed  a  little  to  herself  as  she  recalled  her 
thought  of  taking  care  of  these  old  people, 
perhaps  of  having  to  wait  upon  them !  There 
seemed  to  be  servants  enough  for  a  dozen, 
instead  of  two ;  it  occurred  to  her  that  to  do 
anything  for  the  Colonel  might  be  even  more 
of  a  task  than  she  had  foreseen.  She  remem- 
bered what  Donald  had  called  him,  that  day 
when  his  letter  had  caused  Mother-dear  to 
turn  so  pale;  she  could  not  help  feeling  that 
perhaps  the  old  gentleman  was  all  Don  had 
feared,  and  more,  in  the  way  of  being  dis- 
agreeable. 

But,  once  in  her  new  room,  there  was  too 
much  else  to  take  up  her  thoughts  to  permit 
of  their  dwelling  longer  on  her  unseen  host. 
The  very  rugs  on  the  floor,  the  fine  old  ma- 
hogany furniture — the  four-post  bed  with 
tasseled  canopy  of  white,  the  dressing-table 
with  its  quaint  little  bandy  legs  and  claw-feet 
gripping  mahogany  balls,  the  little  round  table 
with  similar  feet  and  the  daintiest  of  carved 
crusts  around  its  edge,  the  square-seated 
chairs  upholstered  in  needlework  and  old  silk, 
and  the  bureau  with  its  swinging  shaving 
mirror — just  these  things,  she  knew,  would 
bring  enough  money  at  Mr,  Cossett's  antique 
58 


SYBILLA 

shop  in  South  Wickham  completely  to  refur- 
nish the  dear,  shabby  old  gray  house  at  home. 
It  was  plain  that  whatever  she  was  to  find  at 
Montebello,  it  would  not  be  poverty.  She 
wondered  why  on  earth  the  Colonel  should 
have  sent  for  one  of  the  young  Crawfords, 
when  he  could  surely  have  had  the  company  of 
anyone  in  the  neighborhood.  There  must  be 
plenty  of  young  people  in  the  many  houses 
she  had  seen  from  the  boat;  why  had  he  not 
invited  some  of  those,  instead  of  an  unknown 
"female"  relative  from  Massachusetts  ?  While 
she  was  puzzling  over  it,  and  taking  the  things 
out  of  her  suit-case,  there  came  a  timid  little 
knock  on  the  door,  and  Miss  Sophia's  voice 
spoke  her  name, 

Sybil  ran  to  open  the  door.  "I  was  hoping 
you  would  come,"  she  said.  "This  is  the 
most  beautiful  bedroom  I  ever  saw.  Miss  So- 
phia, and  the  view  of  the  Bay  from  my  win- 
dow is  lovely,  perfectly  lovely!" 

Miss  Sophia's  cheeks  were  slightly  flushed, 
but  evidently  she  was  not  going  to  refer  to 
her  brother's  stentorian  call.  "I  am  so  glad 
you  like  it,  my  dear,"  she  said.  "And  I  think 
you  should  call  me  Cousin  Sophia — we  are 
cousins,  you  know." 

59 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Sybil  felt  suddenly  that  perhaps  she  ought 
to  confess  her  merely  adopted  relationship; 
but  then  she  realized  that  Dad  would  have 
told,  if  he  had  wished  it  known;  so  she  bent 
and  kissed  the  flushed,  sweet,  little  old  face. 

"Cousin  Sophia!  Oh,  I  shall  feel  more  at 
home  if  I  may  call  you  that!" 

Mrs.  Crawford  had  folded  in  the  bottom 
of  Sybil's  suit-case  a  simple  white  crepe  dress, 
as  being  one  that  she  could  properly  wear  on 
her  first  evening,  in  whatever  circumstances 
she  might  find  the  Crocketts.  Miss  Sophia 
hovered  over  everything  that  Sybil  had  un- 
packed, examining  each  article  with  the  frank 
interest  of  a  child,  and  with  as  little  thought 
of  impropriety.  The  little  white  dress  espe- 
cially attracted  her.  She  clasped  her  hands 
ecstatically. 

"Oh,  my  dear!  Will  you  wear  this  to- 
night?" she  begged. 

Sybil  smiled  as  she  lifted  it  up  and  put  it 
over  her  head.  "I  was  going  to,"  she  said. 
"Mother-dear  thought  it  would  do." 

"Oh,  it  is  going  to  be  so  very,  ve-ry  nice  to 

have  a  young  girl  in  the  house !"    Miss  Sophia 

looked  behind  her  in  her  nervous  little  way. 

"It — it  has  sometimes  been — just  a  little  bit — 

60 


SYBILLA 

lonely,  my  dear!"  she  whispered,  and  nodded 
confidentially. 

"But  there  are  young  people  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, are  there  not?"  Sybil  suggested, 
fastening  her  belt  the  while.  "I  met  a  delight- 
ful girl  coming  down  on  the  boat  who  lives 
quite  near — Molly  Rutherford." 

She  was  totally  unprepared  for  the  imme- 
diate change  in  Miss  Sophia;  the  brightness 
vanished  at  once  from  the  eager  little  face, 
and  the  hands  began  clasping  and  unclasping, 
nervously  twisting  over  each  other.  Sybil 
turned  from  her  mirror,  and  was  about  to 
exclaim,  to  ask  what  she  had  said  that  was 
alarming,  when  once  more  through  the  house, 
seeming  to  rise  from  its  very  foundations,  to 
fill  every  corner,  to  echo  and  re-echo  through 
room  and  corridor,  came  that  mighty  roar : 

"So— phi— a!" 

Miss  Sophia  turned,  and  fairly  scuttled 
from  the  room ;  Sybil  heard  her  little  feet  pat- 
tering down  the  hall,  down  the  uncarpeted 
stairway,  and  her  voice  calling: 

"I   am  coming.   Brother !     I   am   coming ! 
O  dear,  O  dear!    Yes,  Brother,  I  am  com- 
ing!" while  the  roars  continued  until  a  door 
below  opened  and  closed! 
6i 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Sybil  sat  down  on  the  side  of  her  bed,  and 
laughed  and  laughed  again.  It  was  all  too 
ludicrous,  too  grotesque,  for  words !  She  was 
tired  and  hungry,  and  nervously  tried  by  the 
varied  experiences  of  the  day.  She  had  ex- 
pected to  come  to  a  house  perhaps  of  poverty, 
certainly  one  where  her  services  should  be 
needed  by  the  two  old  and  lonely  people  who 
had  sent  their  call  northward  over  so  many 
miles  to  Dad.  Instead,  here  she  was  in  the 
finest  bedroom  she  had  ever  seen,  in  a  house 
that  would  make  half  a  dozen  of  "home"; 
there  were  servants  everywhere,  and  evidences 
of  wealth  and  comfort  all  about.  And  as  for 
the  two  old  people — one,  indeed,  was  timid, 
yet  far  too  sprightly  to  be  in  need  of  waiting 
on ;  while  the  other — well,  the  other  seemed 
to  be  more  like  a  roaring  lion  than  the  lonely 
old  man  she  had  expected  to  meet. 

Again  she  wondered  why  she  was  here, 
when  the  Colonel  could  have  had  the  com- 
panionship of  dozens  of  young  people  from 
the  nearby  places,  merely  by  inviting  them ! 

"But  perhaps  he  roars  at  them,  and  they 

will  not  come,"  she  said  to  herself ;  and,  almost 

hysterically,  she  buried  her  head  in  the  ruffled 

pillow  and  laughed  until  she  was  near  to  tears. 

62 


SYBILLA 

Then  she  jumped  up,  for  a  muffled  gong 
was  being  sounded  from  the  hall  below. 
"Gracious !  Perhaps  that's  for  supper,  and 
I'm  not  half  ready !" 

Her  scramble  reminded  her  of  many  a 
morning  at  home,  and  a  great  lump  of  home- 
sickness was  in  her  throat  as-  she  descended 
the  broad  stairway  to  the  hall.  A  mahogany 
door  at  one  side  was  open,  but  all  she  could 
see  of  the  room  beyond  was  a  tall  leather- 
covered  screen.  There  was  no  doubt  of  its 
being  the  dining-room,  however,  for  from 
within  came  the  sound  of  a  man's  voice — the 
voice  of  the  roars — berating  first  some  one 
named  "Shem,"  then  "Jinny,"  then,  and  most 
frequently,  "Sophia !" 

Sybil  waited  outside  the  door,  scarcely 
knowing  whether  or  not  she  was  expected  to 
enter,  and,  indeed,  scarcely  daring  to  do  so, 
when  she  heard  Miss  Sophia's  voice  raised  in 
gentle  protest. 

"Oh,  Brother,  it  is  the  very  same  coffee! 
I  assure  you  it  is!  I  sent  to  Baltimore  for 
the  ve-ry " 

Something — doubtless  a  fist — thumped  on 
the  table,  and  the  roaring  voice  thundered : 

"It  is  not!  I  tell  you  it  is  not  coffee  at 
63 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

all!  It's  beans,  or  chicory,  or  anything,  but 
it's  not  coffee !  Never  was  coffee !  Never  will 
be  coffee!  Take  the  stuff  away — ^you  Shem, 
what  you  standing  there  like  a  log  o'  wood 
for?    Hey?    You  Jinny!" 

And  again  from  Miss  Sophia,  as  something 
fell  to  the  floor  and  broke,  "Oh,  Brother !  I 
ordered  the  ve-ry  same " 

Sybil  scarcely  knew  whether  to  stay  or  to 
rush  back  up  the  stairs  to  the  safety  of  her 
own  room;  then  she  raised  her  head  and 
pressed  her  lips  very  closely  together. 

"I  know  what's  the  matter  with  him!"  she 
said  to  herself.  "He's  in  just  the  sort  of 
temper  a  child  is  in  when  it  bangs  its  head 
upon  the  floor!  He's  roaring  and  raging 
just  to  hear  himself,  and  just  to  see  people 
jump  around!  He  is  not  going  to  make  me 
jump !  /  know  what  he  needs !  He  needs 
just  what  any  spoiled  child  needs,  a  firm — 
personal — touch !" 

Then  she  laughed  at  the  absurdity  of  the 
thought.  She  could  not  very  well  chastise  this 
unknown  lion  of  a  Colonel !  "But  I  can  deal 
with  him,  just  the  same,"  she  said  to  herself, 
with  a  little  nod  of  confidence,  and  went  into 
the  dining-room. 

64 


SYBILLA 

Miss  Sophia  sat  at  the  end  of  the  broad, 
gleaming  mahogany  table,  facing  the  door,  and 
well  entrenched  behind  a  formidable  array  of 
silver  urn  and  coffee-pot,  and  various  bowls 
and  pitchers  of  silver,  all  placed  upon  a  large 
oval  tray.  Sybil  wrote  Donald  afterwards 
that  Miss  Sophia  doubtless,  at  times,  needed 
all  the  barriers  she  could  erect! 

A  many-branched  silver  candelabrum  with 
lighted  candles  was  in  the  middle  of  the  table, 
which  was  without  a  cloth,  but  very  well  cov- 
ered with  dishes.  "Three  or  four  kinds  of 
preserves  and  four  kinds  of  hot  breads,  Don," 
she  wrote  afterwards.  "Wouldn't  Hallam  and 
the  girls  enjoy  it?  And  I  know  a  sophomore 
or  two  who  would  not  altogether  despise  it !" 

But  the  center  of  interest  in  the  room,  the 
person  who,  by  voice  and  gesture,  was  holding 
the  attention  of  the  negro  man  and  woman, 
and  of  the  trembling,  fidgetting  little  lady  op- 
posite him,  was  seated  with  his  back  to  the 
door,  well  protected  from  the  draught  by  the 
leather  screen. 

When  the  Colonel  heard  his  young  guest 

come  into  the  room,  or  else  was  made  aware 

of  her  being  there  by  Miss  Sophia's  look  of 

relief  and  welcome,  and  her  gently  reproving 

65 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

murmur  of  "Brother!  Oh,  Brother!"  the 
roars  subsided,  the  pounding  ceased,  and  lo! 
where  there  had  been  a  storm  a  beautiful  calm 
prevailed !  His  guest  had  come,  and  gout  or 
no  gout,  supper  or  no  supper,  cost  what  it 
might  and  doubtless  would  of  pain  and  in- 
convenience, the  Colonel  was  going  to  wel- 
come her  properly  at  last ! 

Sybil  lingered  back  of  him,  out  of  his  sight ; 
indeed,  she  scarcely  dared  come  closer;  but 
the  old  gentleman  spoke,  and  how  charming 
now  was  his  tone! 

"Ah,  my  dear  young  lady !  Come  in,  come 
in !  I  regret  that  my  infirmity  has  prevented 
my  welcoming  you  before,  but  the  welcome  is 
none  the  less  sincere  and  hearty  for  the  de- 
lay!" Then,  as  Sybil  still  hung  back  a  little, 
"Come  in,  my  dear !" 

All  the  while  the  old  gentleman  was  strug- 
gling to  arise,  lifting  himself  up  slowly  and 
carefully  by  the  arms  of  his  high-backed 
chair,  waving  away  Shem's  proffered  arm, 
until,  leaning  against  the  table  for  support, 
he  was  upon  his  feet. 

"Come  in,  my  dear,"  said  Miss  Sophia,  peep- 
ing between  the  enormous  hot-water  urn  and 
the  sugar-bowl.     "Come  right  in!" 
66 


SYBILLA 

Sybil  walked  the  few  yards  to  the  table, 
around  the  Colonel's  chair,  and  at  last  stood 
before  him. 

The  effort  of  rising,  and  doubtless  the  ex- 
ercise of  roaring,  had  made  the  old  gentle- 
man's face  a  deep,  rich  crimson.  He  turned 
to  Sybil  with  a  little  formal,  old-fashioned 
bow,  and  held  out  his  hand. 

"It  was  very  good  of  you  to  come  to  keep 
two  old  people  company,"  he  said,  as  she  was 
advancing. 

But  when  at  last  she  had  come  out  of  the 
shadows  into  the  full  candle-light,  and  he 
really  saw  her  face  for  the  first  time,  his 
sentence  remained  unfinished.  He  stood  for 
a  long  moment  as  motionless  as  if  suddenly 
turned  to  stone ;  his  outstretched  arm  fell,  his 
hand  struck  the  edge  of  the  table  without  his 
being  aware  of  it;  and  slowly,  very  slowly, 
the  deep  color  paled  from  his  face,  leaving 
it  white,  terrifyingly  white,  with  strange  shad- 
ows cast  by  the  flickering  candles.  The  old 
negro  sprang  forward,  and  Miss  Sophia  rose, 
alarmed,  from  behind  her  entrenchment ;  Sybil 
stood  speechless  and  motionless  with  fright, 
staring  at  the  paling  face  before  her. 

At  last,  after  what  seemed  an  age  of  time 
67 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

but  was  probably  scarcely  a  minute,  the 
Colonel  drew  a  deep  breath,  leaned  suddenly 
forward  across  the  corner  of  the  table,  to- 
ward her,  and  gasped  out  the  name: 

"Sybilla!" 

At  the  quick  relief  of  hearing  her  own 
name^  instead  of  some  unknown,  unimaginable 
horror,  Sybil  felt  the  blood  returning  to  her 
face  in  a  wave  of  color.  She  lifted  her  head, 
and  returned  his  look  bravely. 

"Why,  yes,  Colonel  Crockett,  I  am  Sybilla ! 
Sybil  Crawford,  you  know !" 

While  Miss  Sophia  and  Shem  and  Jinny 
remained  transfixed  with  fright  or  amazement, 
and  the  Colonel  still  bent  toward  her  with  a 
look  as  of  one  seeing  a  vision,  she  gave  a 
little  laugh.  Anything  to  break  the  tension  of 
the  curious  situation ! 

"I  suppose  Dad  forgot  to  tell  you  which  of 
us  was  coming!"  she  said,  deprecatingly.  "It 
was  I  who  came,  you  see,  because  I  am  the 
oldest!" 

Then,  the  Colonel  still  looking  at  her  in 
that  strange  way,  she  cried  out,  "Oh,  what 
is  there  in  my  name  that  seems  so  remark- 
able to  everybody?" 

At  last  the  Colonel  moved.  "Sybilla!"  he 
68 


'Sybilla!' 


SYBILLA 

said  again,  in  a  low  tone  of  wonder,  of  incre- 
dulity. 

SybiFs  endurance  and  patience  were  at  an 
end.  Suddenly  she  wanted  to  slap  the  old  gen- 
tleman, or  to  shake  him!  But  she  could  not 
very  well  do  that!  Instead,  she  stamped  her 
foot,  and  shook  her  head  directly  at  him,  never 
realizing  until  hours  later  how  inexpressibly 
rude  she  had  been. 

"Yes,  Sybilla!  Sybilla,  Sybilla,  Sybilla! 
There!"  she  cried. 

It  was  a  shocking  little  exhibition  of  tem- 
per, but  the  atmosphere  seemed  suddenly  to 
clear.  Miss  Sophia  sat  down  and  laughed 
nervously.  Shem  grinned  and  jumped  toward 
the  pantry,  and  Jinny,  her  white  teeth  gleam- 
ing, drew  out  the  chair  at  Sybil's  place. 

The  Colonel's  color  began  to  come  back, 
and  he  held  out  his  hand  again.  He  waS; 
actually  smiling. 

"My  dear  Sybilla!  You  must  forgive  an 
old  man  who  is  heartily  ashamed  of  his 
nerves!  Why,  I  might  have  been  Sophia 
there,  behaving  like  a  fidgetty  woman !" 

But  Sybil  was  not  to  be  so  easily  appeased. 
"Cousin  Sophia  didn't  take  me  for  a  ghost, 
anyway !"  she  said,  sharply.  But  perhaps  she 
69 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

was  not  altogether  unreasonable  in  being 
angry  at  such  a  remarkable  reception ;  and  all 
day  long,  it  seemed  to  her,  people  had  been 
exclaiming,  "Sybilla!"  and  gasping.  No,  she 
was  not  unreasonable  at  all — as  she  argued  it 
out  later  in  her  letter  to  Donald. 

The  Colonel  smiled.  "Ah !  Not  a  ghost, 
my  child,  but  a  vision!  A  vision  we  are  not 
accustomed  to  at  Montebello — a  vision  of 
youth !  A  vision  of  youth !"  He  sank  back 
in  his  chair,  and  waved  her  to  her  own  place 
at  the  table. 

"I  think  we  have  been  needing  you  here  for 
a  long  time,  my  dear,"  he  added,  and  for  the 
remainder  of  the  meal  there  was  not  even  the 
echo  of  a  roar! 


VI 

THE   FIRST    MORNING 

WHEN  Sybil  came  down  to  breakfast  on 
her  first  morning  at  Montebello,  she 
found  the  Colonel  standing  at  the  dining-room 
window  looking  toward  his  stables,  and  call- 
ing and  whistling  to  some  dogs  outside.  His 
gout  seemed  miraculously  to  have  disappeared 
during  the  night ;  he  turned  as  she  came  into 
the  room,  and  said,  with  a  stately  little  bow : 

"Ah,  my  dear,  you  are  looking  as  fresh  as 
a  rose!    Not  tired  after  your  journey?" 

Sybil  smiled.  "Good  morning,  Colonel 
Crockett!  No,  sir,  I  am  not  at  all  tired — I 
have  never  been  tired  in  my  life !" 

The  Colonel  drew  his  white  brows 
together  into  a  ferocious  frown.  "  'Colonel 
Crockett,'  eh?  Who  told  you  to  call  me 
'Colonel  Crockett,' Miss?    Hey?" 

Sybil  laughed.  He  was  really  very  amus- 
ing,  with   his   babyish   tempers,    for   all   his 

71 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

frowns  and  his  roars.  "May  I  call  you 
'Cousin,'  then?  I  say  'Cousin  Sophia,'  you 
know !" 

"Oh,  you  do,  hey?  You  say  'Cousin  So- 
phia,' do  you?  I  suppose  you  like  Sophia 
better  than  me,  hey?" 

Sybil  put  her  head  on  one  side  and  seemed 
to  be  thinking  it  over.  "Well,  sir,  I — Cousin 
Sophia  is  a — a  little  more — gentle!" 

The  Colonel's  frown  was  tremendous,  and 
his  voice  increased  to  a  roar.  "Oh,  she  is,  is 
she?  I  suppose  she's  more  agreeable,  too, 
hey?" 

"Yes,  sir!"  said  Sybil,  dimpling. 

The  old  gentleman  stared  at  her  for  a  mo- 
ment or  two ;  then  he  gasped  out,  "Well,  bless 
my  soul!" 

But  Sybil  smiled  at  him  reassuringly.  *'Oh, 
I  think  you  could  be  very  agreeable,  if  you 
really  put  your  mind  to  it,"  she  said. 

The  Colonel  gasped  as  if  someone  had 
thrown  cold  water  at  him.  Sybil  looked  de- 
murely down  at  her  own  hands.  She  dared 
not  look  at  the  old  gentleman;  his  expression 
of  dismay  and  incredulity  would,  she  knew, 
be  too  much  for  her.  She  gave  him  time  to 
compose  his  feelings,  whatever  they  might  be, 
72 


THE   FIRST   MORNING 

and  was  rather  surprised  when  he  said,  with 
a  chuckle : 

"I  shall  get  ahead  of  Sophia,  anyway !  You 
are  to  call  me  'Uncle,'  Miss,  'Uncle' — no 
'Cousin'  for  me,  remember,  but  'Uncle !'  D'ye 
hear  me?" 

"Yes— Uncle !" 

"And  you  can  keep  on  calling  Sophia 
'Cpusin,'  d'ye  hear?" 

Sybil  had  to  remain  speechless,  or  laugh; 
and  it  would  have  been  heartless  to  laugh. 

After  a  moment  the  old  gentleman  said,  still 
in  a  tone  of  pique,  "I  suppose  you  think  me 
a  sort  of  ogre,  hey  ?" 

Sybil  looked  up  at  him  and  shook  her  head. 
*'0  dear,  no!"  she  said.  "I  see  through  you 
perfectly !" 

The  Colonel's  calm  vanished.  "What?"  he 
roared,  and  Shem  poked  his  head  in  the  pan- 
try door,  while  Miss  Sophia's  pattering  foot- 
steps could  be  heard  hastening,  as  usual,  to- 
ward the  sound.  But  Sybil  only  continued  to 
smile  serenely. 

"Yes,  indeed,"  she  assured  him,  "I  see 
through  you  perfectly!  You  try  to  make 
everybody  afraid  of  you,  and  then  the  more 
73 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

they  tremble  the  more  they  provoke  you  to 
wrath." 

For  an  instant  the  Colonel  seemed  to  be 
choking,  and  his  face  grew  alarmingly  red. 
"So  you — see — through — me — through  me,  do 
you,  Miss?  You  see  through  me?  You  do, 
hey?  And  they  provoke  me  to  wrath,  do 
they  ?  Wrath !  Wrath !  I  never  was  angry 
in  my  life,  Miss  !    D'ye  hear  ?    Wrath !" 

Sybil  only  looked  at  him,  her  expression  un- 
changed, ^although  she  was  longing  to  laugh. 

"I  suppose  you'll  be  telling  me  next  that 
you  aren't  afraid  of  me,  hey?"  he  roared,  glar-  • 
ing  at  her  from  beneath  his  brows. 

Miss  Sophia  was  standing  outside  the  door, 
peeping  around  the  corner  of  the  leather 
screen,  and  Sybil  was  sure  she  was  wringing 
her  hands.  The  situation  was  ridiculous,  but 
something  told  her  that  it  was  the  crucial 
moment  of  her  life  here;  and  she  kept  re- 
minding herself  that  if  the  old  gentleman 
acted  like  a  spoiled  baby  he  had  best  be  treated 
as  one — as  far  as  she  could  manage  to  do  it! 

She  held  her  head  a  trifle  higher,  and  the 
color  deepened  in  her  cheeks.     "I  never  was 
afraid  of  anything  in  my  life!"  she  declared. 
•    74 


THE   FIRST   MORNING 

"I  am  certainly  not  going  to  be  afraid  of  a 
spoiled  child!"  * 

But  in  the  awful  silence  which  followed  her 
daring,  she  was,  nevertheless,  somewhat 
frightened.  What  if  she  had  gone  too  far! 
What  would,  what  could  the  Colonel  do  ?  The 
atmosphere  of  the  room  seemed  to  vibrate 
as  if  charged  with  electricity — or  was  it  only 
throbbing  in  unison  with  her  heart?  What 
would  the  Colonel  do> 

As  it  happened,  he  did  the  unexpected.  "A 
spoiled  child!"  he  began  to  repeat  to  himsalf, 
in  a  low  voice,  as  if  to  make  sure  those  were 
the  words  he  had  heard.  "A  spoiled  child ! 
Well,  bless  my  soul  and  body!  A  spoiled 
child!"  He  began  to  chuckle.  "A  spoiled 
child,  and  she's  not  afraid  of  me !" 

Then  the  old  gentleman  laughed,  until  he 
had  to  grope  blindly  for  a  chair  and  throw 
himself  into  its  support.  He  laughed  until 
he  had  to  use  his  bright  bandanna  to  mop  his 
eyes.  He  laughed  until  Miss  Sophia's  pale 
little  face  was  peeping  from  around  one  side 
of  the  leather  screen,  a  group  of  wondering, 
frightened  brown  ones  around  the  other,  and 
Shem's,  blackest  and  most  agonized  of  all, 
through  the  pantry  door,  his  eyes  rolling  and 

75 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

his  mouth  open.  But  the  old  Colonel  still 
laughed,  and  looked  at  Sybil,  standing  now 
rather  ashamed  and  blushing  and  dimpling 
before  him,  and  laughed  again  until  the  echoes 
rang,  repeating,  when  he  could : 

"I'm  a  spoiled  child !"  only  to  laugh  again ! 

At  last,  with  one  hand  to  his  aching  side  and 
the  other  mopping  away  with  the  bandanna, 
he  called  out,  "Sophia!  Come  around  from 
behind  that  screen,  and  behave  like  a  sensible 
woman!  I'm  a  spoiled  child,  Sophia,  and 
you  needn't  be  afraid  of  me !    Oh,  ho,  ho,  ho !" 

Miss  Sophia  came,  wringing  her  hands  and 
shaking  her  head  reproachfully  at  Sybil.  "Oh, 
Brother,  pray  compose  yourself !  Oh, 
Brother,  pray  don't  excite  yourself  like  this ! 
O  dear,  O  dear!" 

The  Colonel  sat  up  very  straight  in  his  chair 
and  frowned  at  her.  "Sophia,"  he  demanded, 
"how  many  years  has  it  been  since  I've 
laughed  like  this?" 

"Oh,  Brother !    I'm  sure  I  don't  know !" 

"Neither  do  I,"  said  the  Colonel,  as  if  a 
matter  of  importance  were  quite  settled.  He 
shook  his  finger  at  the  very  demure  Sybil. 
"You  saucy  piece!  So  you  see  through  me, 
do  you?    Hey?" 

7^ 


THE   FIRST   MORNING 

"Perfectly,"  she  replied,  trying  not  to  smile, 
although  her  deepening  dimples  rather  gave 
her  away. 

"And  you're  not  afraid  of  me  ?    Hey  ?" 

She  shook  her  head. 

"Not  afraid  of  anything  in  the  world,  hey?" 

"I  can't  imagine  the  sensation !"  she  de- 
clared, although  she  was  quite  aware  of 
slightly  stretching  the  truth. 

"Can't,  hey  ?    Maybe  you'd  like  to  feel  it  ?" 

She  put  her  head  on  one  side  and  smiled  at 
him  very  sweetly.  "Well,"  she  said,  "well — 
Uncle — I  have  always  enjoyed  new  sensa- 
tions !" 

"Sophia,"  said  the  Colonel  impressively, 
"that  chit  of  a  girl  is  giving  me  a  dare !" 

Sybil  laughed,  but  poor  little  Miss  Sophia 
was  utterly  bewildered  by  the  scene,  and 
wrung  her  hands.  "Oh,  Brother!"  she  cried. 
"Oh,  Sybil !  O  dear !  O  dear !" 

"Yes,  Sophia,  it  is  undoubtedly  a  dare!" 
He  chuckled  again,  and  urged  his  chair 
toward  the  breakfast  table  with  sundry  jerks 
and  pulls.  "Well,  young  lady,  we  shall  see, 
we  shall  see !  Shem !  You  Shem !  Bring  in 
tlhat  breakfast!  What  you  waiting  in  that 
77 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

pantry  for,  you  lazy,  no  'count  rascal,  you? 
Hey?" 

When  breakfast  was  over  the  Colonel  asked 
Sybil  whether  she  should  like  to  explore  the 
house;  and  accordingly  he  led  her  upstairs 
and  down,  through  every  door  and  into  every 
room,  save  one. 

"May  as  well  know  where  you  are,"  he  told 
her.  "I  reckon  young  people  haven't  changed 
much  since  my  day,  and  I  used  to  think  it 
necessary  to  know  every  corner  of  every  place 
I  stayed  in." 

But  Sybil  guessed  that  his  apparent  indif- 
ference was  in  reality  the  cloak  of  a  very 
different  feeling.  The  old  house  was  a  beau- 
tiful relic  of  Colonial  times,  originally  well 
planned,  on  dignified,  graceful  lines ;  and  gen- 
erations had  come  and  passed  and  left  their 
mark  upon  it.  Everything  that  man  touches 
with  the  hand  of  love — fields,  houses,  ani- 
mals— gives  back  a  return  in  beauty  and 
charm — and  the  old  house  of  Montebello  was 
far  from  being  an  exception.  Even  the  faded 
needlework  on  the  seats  of  the  chairs,  the  em- 
broidered and  knitted  spreads  on  the  beds,  and 
the  other  examples  of  old-time  fancy  work 
78 


THE   FIRST   MORNING 

that  would  have  been  homely  enough  but  for 
the  evidence  they  gave  of  the  love  that  had 
gone  into  their  creation — even  these  were  now 
beautiful,  and  lent  an  old-time  elegance  to 
the  rooms.  The  varied  life  of  generations 
had  been  lived  here,  and  many  traces  of  it 
remained.  Sons  and  daughters  had  come,  had 
played  and  dreamt,  and  gone  out  into  the 
world,  some  to  other  homes,  some  to  battle 
and  death,  some  to  be  lost  in  the  obscurity 
of  time.  Now  there  remained  only  two  old 
people ;  and  when  Sybil  had  passed  through 
room  after  room,  all  with  that  indefinable 
loneliness  that  often  seems  to  linger  in  rooms 
long  unoccupied,  like  the  fragrance  of  dead 
roses  in  an  old  jar,  she  could  well  under- 
stand why  the  Colonel  had  broken  his  silence 
of  years  to  beg  for  youthful  companionship,  , 
even  while  she  still  wondered  why  he  had 
not  sought  it  nearer  home.  But  Sybil  was 
young,  and  she  had  not  yet  begun  to  feel  the 
inextinguishable  appeal  of  kindred.  She  could 
not  know  how  deeply  rooted  is  that  call  in  the 
human  race.  She  could  not  know  that  it  had 
reached  the  old  gentleman  through  his  loneli- 
ness, and  that  he  had  responded  to  one  of  the 
primitive  impulses  of  human  nature  when 
79 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

he  had  sent  for  someone  of  his  own  family, 
rather  than  for  a  stranger. 

Nor  could  she  know  that  as  he  led  her  from 
room  to  room  of  the  old  house  he  was  still 
marvelling  at  the  resemblance  that  had  al- 
most stunned  him  the  night  before.  He  tried 
to  trace  it  through  his  nephew  Robert,  but  at 
last  he  could  only  assure  himself  that  it  was 
no  more  than  a  curious  coincidence.  Yet  all 
the  while,  whenever  he  looked  at  Sybil's  face, 
he  was  shaken  and  stirred  as  he  had  not  been 
for  years.  The  resemblance  was  so  moving, 
so  unforeseen!  It  was  wonderful;  and  there 
would  have  been  wonder  enough  without  that, 
in  merely  having  a  young  creature  of  his  own 
race  beside  him,  in  his  care,  to  be  his  cher- 
ished guest  for  a  while  at  least.  He  was 
beginning  to  find  his  experiment  interesting! 

To  Sybil  the  matter  of  first  importance, 
the  first  thing  in  her  thoughts,  was  the  delight 
she  felt  in  the  beautiful  old  house  and  in  the 
little  stories  the  old  gentleman  told  her  about 
his  forebears  who  had  dwelt  here,  and  who 
were,  as  far  as  he  knew,  also  her  own. 

The  library  in  the  left  wing  was  the  most 
beautiful  as  "well  as  the  most  interesting  room 
of  all,  filled  to  the  ceiling  with  books  or  pic- 
80 


THE   FIRST   MORNING 

tures — portraits  by  Stuart  and  Peak,  a  large 
engraving  of  Washington's  inauguration,  an- 
other of  one  of  Mrs.  Madison's  receptions, 
and  a  yellowed  photograph,  hanging  beside 
the  Colonel's  secretary,  of  a  bearded  man  in 
Confederate  uniform,  of  whom  the  Colonel 
spoke  in  a  tone  of  reverence  and  affection 
as  "Robert." 

There  was  only  one  door  in  the  house 
which  the  Colonel  did  not  open  for  her.  It 
was  in  the  wall  beside  the  library  chimney. 

"That  unopened  door,  my  dear,  is  to  re- 
main closed,"  the  old  gentleman  said,  when 
he  noticed  her  looking  towards  it. 

Sybil  flushed  a  little.  "Oh,  I  didn't  mean 
to  look  inquisitive,  Uncle,"  she  said. 

A  strong  liking  for  the  old  man  had  grown 
up  during  the  morning;  he  had  been  so  kind 
and  courteous,  and  was  so  evidently  trying 
to  make  her  feel  at  home. 

The  Colonel  patted  her  on  the  shoulder. 
"That  is  the  door  of  memory,  my  dear,"  he 
said,  in  a  tone  so  sad  that  Sybil  looked  quickly 
up  into  his  face.  "The  door  of  memory,  my 
child ;  and  it  is  best  to  leave  it  unopened." 

Moved  by  some  quick  impulse  of  pity  or 
sympathy  for  she  knew  not  what,  Sybil  laid 
8i 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

her  hand  upon  his  arm.  The  old  gentleman 
took  it  in  his  own,  turned  it  over,  and  looked 
at  it  as  if  it  were  some  unusual  object ;  patted 
it,  and  released  it  with  a  sigh. 

"Strange!  Strange!"  he  murmured,  as  he 
led  the  way  out  of  the  library. 

The  big  front  door  of  Montebello  stood 
wide  open,  day  and  night,  from  the  first  mild 
warmth  of  spring  until  frosty  nights  and 
chilly  mornings  urged  old  Shem  to  close  it. 
It  would  have  surprised  anyone  there,  even 
timid  Miss  Sophia,  if  it  had  been  suggested 
that  there  might  be  any  other  reason  for 
closing  it  than  to  keep  the  house  warm.  The 
old  square  hall,  Sybil  thought,  was  sadly  in 
need  of  a  good  tidying;  there  was  a  small 
forest  of  walking  sticks  and  fishing  rods  and 
guns  and  umbrellas  in  one  corner  beside  the 
door,  and  there  were  bridles,  coats,  shawls, 
dog  collars  and  a  variety  of  other  things 
wherever  the  Colonel  had  happened  to  drop 
them.  Later  Miss  Sophia  confided  to  Sybil 
that  no  one  dared  tidy  the  hall  or  the  li- 
brary— a  fact  to  which  the  Colonel's  occa- 
sional roars  bore  evidence,  whenever  some- 
thing had  become  displaced  from  its  familiar 
disorder. 

82 


THE   FIRST   MORNING 

Now  the  old  gentleman  carefully  selected 
a  walking  stick  from  the  corner,  and  Sybil 
exclaimed  at  sight  of  the  guns. 

"Oh,  how  the  boys  would  love  these  guns !" 
she  cried. 

"Humph !"  said  the  Colonel,  passing  out 
of  the  veranda  towards  the  stables.  "Boys! 
Boys!  I've  no  use  for  boys!  None  of  'em 
any  good  !    None  of  'em  any  good !" 

Sybil  smiled,  remembering  his  first  letter 
to  Dad.  "But,  Uncle,"  she  said,  slyly,  "most 
of  us  were  either  boys  or  girls  at  one  time 
of  our  lives — and  some  of  us  who  were  boys 
seem  to  have  turned  out  pretty  well !" 

The  old  gentleman  stood  still  and  looked 
around  at  her  as  if  to  make  sure  that  he  had 
heard  aright.  At  the  sight  of  her  rather 
mischievous  little  smile  he  glared  and 
frowned  tremendously.     Then  he  remarked : 

"Humph  I"  and  stalked  on,  while  Sybil  fol- 
lowed him,  smiling. 

The  stable  was  a  long,  low  building  of 
gray  stone,  and  a  negro  voice  -from  within 
could  be  heard  talking  to  the  horses. 

"Come  outen  dar.  Miss  Em'ly,  you  done 
had  yo'  dinner !  You  Selim,  you  nip  my  haid 
an'  I'll  smack  you !" 

.       83 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"You  Japhet!"  the  ColoYiel  called  out,  as 
they  stood  in  the  doorway  and  looked  into 
the  fragrant  gloom  of  the  interior,  "you 
Japhet,  bring  out  the  horses  for  Missy  to 
see!"  Then,  to  Sybil,  "Can't  do  themselves 
justice  in  the  stalls!" 

And  Japhet,  whom  she  found  to  be  the 
aged  coachman  who  had  driven  her  up  from 
the  boat  landing,  led  them  forth,  one  after 
the  other,  grinning  with  delight  and  pride, 
answering  the  Colonel's  inquiries  after  their 
health  with  evident  satisfaction.  At  last  the 
old  gentleman  said: 

"Now  put  a  side  saddle  on  Damascus,  and 
saddle  Selim  for  me." 

At  that  the  old  man  stood  still  and  stared 
at  his  master  as  if  he  felt  he  could  not  have 
heard  correctly. 

"Suh?"  he  asked,  his  mouth  wide  open. 

The  Colonel  raised  his  cane.  "You  heard 
what  I  said,  you  no  'count  rascal !  You  heard 
what  I  said,"  he  roared.    "Now  you  jump!" 

Japhet  jumped,  and  it  seemed  scarcely  a 
minute  before  he  returned  with  a  horse  that 
he  had  not  shown  before,  a  horse  of  glisten- 
ing black,  with  only  a  star  of  white  on  his 
84 


THE   FIRST   MORNING 

forehead.  He  whinnied  when  he  saw  the 
Colonel,  and  arched  his  splendid  neck. 

"Well,  Selim,"  the  old  gentleman  said,  in 
the  gentlest  tone  Sybil  had  heard  him  use, 
except  when  he  had  spoken  of  the  closed 
door,  "come  here!" 

Old  Japhet  dropped  the  bridle,  and  the 
beautiful  animal  went  directly  to  his  master. 
"This,  my  dear,"  said  the  Colonel,  "is  my 
old  friend  Selim.  We've  been  cronies  for 
more  years  than  I  like  to  remember,  con- 
sidering the  sum  of  a  horse's  life.  How 
many  miles  have  you  carried  me,  Selim? 
Hey?" 

Selim  rubbed  his  soft  muzzle  against  his 
master's  face  with  low  murmurings  of  joy, 
and  the  old  gentleman  put  his  hand  in  a  coat 
pocket.  Selim  bent  his  head  toward  the 
concealed  hand,  and  his  master  turned. 
Selim  walked  gently  around  to  the  other  side, 
and  again  the  Colonel  turned.  Sybil  laughed 
at  the  little  play  of  the  two  old  friends. 

"Oh,  he  is  perfectly  beautiful,"  she  cried. 
"He  is  really  trying  to  talk  to  you!  He's 
a  darling!  The  loveliest  horse  I've  ever, 
ever  seen  1" 

"And  what  do  you  think  of  that  one?" 
85 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

the  Colonel  asked,  nodding  over  his  shoulder 
towards  the  doorway  from  which  Japhet  was 
leading  another. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  describe  the  color 
of  a  red  Arabian.  Damascus  had  a  blaze  of 
white  down  his  face,  and  a  gleam  of  white 
upon  his  chest;  except  for  that,  his  coat  was 
of  an  almost  iridescent  red,  or  sorrel,  gleam-t 
ing  to  pale  gold  where  his  muscles  played  in 
the  brightest  light,  deepening  to  bronze  in  the 
shadows,  as  full  of  color  as  the  unopened 
buds  of  the  oaks,  as  glossy  as  a  woman's  hair. 
His  neck  was  very  deep,  and  his  head  un- 
usually small;  his  dainty  ears  cupped  toward 
every  whisper  of  sound,  and  he  walked  so 
lightly  that  the  gravel  scarcely  moved  as  he 
trod.  He  reminded  Sybil  of  one  of  those 
wonderful  chargers  pictured  in  old  paintings, 
held  by  pages  in  satin  or  velvet,  or  ridden  by 
some  long-haired  cavalier. 

"Oh !"  she  cried.  "He  looks  as  if  he  might 
have  marched  at  the  head  of  a  crusade!" 

"Doubtless  some  of  his  grandfathers  did," 
the  Colonel  replied.  "He  is  Selim's  noblest 
son.     Bring  him  up  closer,  Japhet." 

But  old  Japhet  held  back,  and  Damascus 
86 


THE   FIRST   MORNING 

twisted  and  curveted  against  his  hold  on  the 
bridle. 

"Bring  him  here!"  the  Colonel  repeated, 
his  voice  beginning  to  roar. 

"Dis  ain't  no  horse  for  a  lady,  Cunnel, 
'deed  he  ain't,  suh!"  old  Japhet  protested. 
"Damascus,  he  ain't  nuvver  been  rid,  'cep- 
tin'  by  my  boy,  Torm.  He  ain't  no  lady's 
horse!" 

Sybil's  heart  began  to  beat  faster.  She 
remembered  her  boast  of  the  earlier  morn- 
ing with  a  pang;  she  remembered  the  Colo- 
nel's saying  she  had  given  him  a  dare.  To 
be  sure,  she  had  ridden  the  doctor's  old 
Betty  many  a  time;  but  for  years  Betty  had 
been  kept  in  the  stable  and  back  yard  because 
she  was  too  old  to  do  any  work.  The  con- 
trast between  Betty  and  Damascus  was  abso- 
lutely ludicrous;  but  Sybil,  when  she  beheld 
a  side-saddle  on  the  Arabian,  was  far  from 
seeing  anything  amusing  in  the  situation. 

"You  bring  that  horse  to  me !"  the  Colonel 
thundered  at  old  Japhet.  "Bring  him  up  to 
this  fence!" 

He  turned  to  Sybil.  "Have  you  ever  rid- 
den?" he  asked.  She  saw  the  twinkle  in  his 
eyes,  and  tried  to  appear  unconscious  of  it. 
87 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"Oh,  yes,"  she  said,  as  calmly  as  she  could, 
while  remembering  that  old  Betty  had  riot 
for  many  years  gone  faster  than  a  possible 
five  miles  an  hour. 

"May  I  have  the  pleasure  of  riding  with  you 
this  morning?"  asked  the  Colonel  with  a  bow. 
"Damascus  is  quite  at  your  service,  you  see." 

Sybil  saw.  Damascus  M'as  at  that  moment 
doing  his  utmost  to  imitate  a  statue  on  a 
pedestal,  standing  upon  his  back  feet  and 
waving  his  dainty  front  ones  in  the  air. 
Japhet  was  being  pulled  almost  off  the  ground 
in  a  futile  attempt  at  anchoring  the  horse  by 
hanging  on  to  the  bridle. 

"Dis  ain't  no  horse  for  a  lady!"  Japhet 
was  still  protesting.  "Somebody  gwine  git 
killed  ef  dey  rides  dis  horse!" 

Sybil's  heart  thumped  away,  but  she  hoped 
that  her  expression  did  not  betray  her.  She 
glanced  down  at  her  skirt;  it  was  a  pleated 
serge,  rather  old-fashioned  now;  and,  of 
course,  she  did  not  possess  a  riding  habit. 
The  Colonel  was  broadly  smiling,  with  a  teas- 
ing twinkle  in  his  eyes;  and  when  she  saw 
that,  Sybil  looked  at  him  squarely. 

"I  shall  be  delighted  to  go  with  you.  Uncle, 
88 


t?U*RcN<»:      t-ro'ViR, 


"Oh,  1  shuuKl  lu\L-  lu  riuc  Imii!'  " 


THE   FIRST   MORNING 

if  you  think  you  will  not  be  ashamed  of  mtf 
without  a  riding  habit." 

It  was  her  turn  to  smile.  The  Colonel's 
expression  had  instantly  changed,  the  twinkle 
dying  out  of  his  eyes,  and  a  look  of  great 
seriousness  taking  its  place.  Evidently  the 
chit  of  a  girl  was  not  going  to  take  his  dare, 
either. 

"Well — er — perhaps,  for  the  first  time  we 
had  better  try  Marguerite  or  Miss  Emily  in- 
stead of  Damascus,"  he  said. 

"Yas,  suh !  Yas,  suh !"  Japhet  agreed. 
"Marguerite's  as  gentle  as  a  little  lamb.  I'll 
jest  tote  out  a  saddle  and  put  it  on  Mar- 
guerite." 

But  Sybil  had  moved  toward  the  beautiful, 
prancing  Damascus,  holding  out  her  hand  and 
talking  to  him.  At  first  he  jerked  away  from 
her,  but  curiosity  at  last  became  too  strong 
for  him,  and  he  thrust  his  lovely  head 
towards  the  outstretched  hand,  allowing  it 
finally  to  touch  his  nose,  then  to  caress  his 
forehead,  his  ears,  and  to  pass  down  the 
gleaming  arch  of  his  neck.  At  last  he  stepped 
closer  to  her,  and  began  to  investigate  her 
cheek  and  the  curve  of  her  neck  with  his  soft 
mouth.  She  took  his  bridle  from  Japhet's 
89 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

unwilling  hand,  secretly  trembling  as  she  did 
so,  and  stood,  talking  to  Damascus  while  he 
responded  in  his  horse's  way. 

The  Colonel  watched  the  little  scene  almost 
breathlessly. 

"Oh,  I  should  love  to  ride  him!  He's  a 
perfect  gentleman!"  Sybil  said  over  her 
shoulder. 

"Well,  rn  be  blessed!"  the  Colonel  ex- 
claimed. "That's  more  than  he  will  let  me 
do.  I  believe  the  rascal's  fallen  in  love  with 
you !" 

"Of  course  he  has!"  she  laughed,  her  cheek 
against  the  white  blaze  on  his  face.  "He 
thinks  he  has  to  reciprocate  a  lady's  feeling, 
like  any  other  very  perfect,  gentle  knight! 
Don't  you,  Damascus?"  And  Damascus 
whinnied  his  reply. 

"It  mought  be  Miss  Sybilla!"  Japhet  said, 
under  his  breath.  Sybil  thought  she  must  be 
dreaming  when  she  heard  the  words,  and  the 
tone,  almost  of  awe,  in  which  they  were 
spoken. 

The  Colonel  had  suddenly  grown  pale. 
"Here,  take  Selim,"  he  said  to  the  old  negro, 
passing  him  the  bridle.  "We  will  not  ride 
to-day." 

90 


THE   FIRST   MORNING 

Then,  with  scarcely  a  look  at  Sybil,  and 
with  bent  head  and  dragging  step,  he  went 
back  to  the  house,  leaving  his  guest  to  follow 
or  not,  as  she  wished. 


VII 
THE   COLONEL  WRITES   A   NOTE 

IN  spite  of  a  recurring  feeling  of  home- 
sickness, Sybil's  days  at  Montebello 
seemed  to  fly  away.  It  was  such  a  new  expe- 
rience to  be  free  from  studies,  free  from 
household  tasks,  at  liberty  to  browse  through 
the  Colonel's  library,  to  walk,  or  sew,  or  try 
the  old  music  primly  arranged  in  the  black 
lacquered  cabinet  with  gold  and  mother-of- 
pearl  figures,  that  stood  beside  the  square  piano 
in  the  front  drawing-room.  Sometimes  she 
would  persuade  Miss  Sophia  to  sing  some 
of  the  old  ballads  that  she  loved,  and  that 
sounded  so  amusingly  quaint  to  Sybil.  Miss 
Sophia's  favorites  were  the  very  sentimental 
ones,  and  the  little  lady's  voice  would  tremble 
and  her  cheeks  flush  over  their  words;  and 
it  was  plainly  to  be  seen  that  their  old- 
fashioned,  florid  sentiments  still  held  a  thrill 
for  Miss  Sophia! 

92 


THE  COLONEL  WRITES  A  NOTE 

"Joys  that  we've  tasted  may  sometimes  return, 
But  the  torch  when  once  wasted,  ah!  how  can 
it  burn  ?" 

and 

"Many  the  changes  since  last  we  met. 
Blushes  have  brightened  and  tears  have  been 
wept !" 

These  still  had  power  to  move  the  little 
lady!  And  there  was  another,  even  more 
beloved : 

"The  years    ,    .    ,    creep  slowly  by,  Lorena, 
The  sn-o-o-w    ...    is  on  the  grass  again!" 

with  its  refrain: 

"The  sun  can  never  dip  so  low-ow-ow 
Adown  affection's  clou-ou-oudless  sky!" 

Sybil  never  tired  of  hearing  Miss  Sophia 
quaver  forth  these  ditties,  especially  when 
she  accompanied  them  with  tales  of  the  old 
gay  days  before-the-war,  when  youths  with 
guitars  and  flutes  sat  on  the  piazza  step's  on 
summer  evenings,  singing  the  old  songs,  in 
the  moonlight,  to  girls  in  ruffled  muslins  and 
93 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

blue  ribbons  and  wreaths  on  their  curling 
hair,  while  the  fragrance  of  jasmine  and 
tuberose  was  all  about  them,  and  the  little 
owls  called  mournfully  from  the  grove  back 
of  the  house,  or  perhaps  a  whippoorwill  from 
the  wheat  fields.    .     .    . 

Indeed,  something  of  the  romance  of  those 
antebellum  days  still  lingered  about  Monte- 
bello,  making  its  half-sad,  half-sweet  appeal 
to  Sybil;  insensibly  the  place  grew  dear  to 
her,  insensibly  she  began  to  feel  as  if  she 
must  always  have  belonged  there. 

It  was  evident  from  the  beginning  of  her 
visit  that  she  was  destined  to  be  a  prime 
favorite  with  the  Colonel.  The  old  gentle- 
man wanted  her  with  him  every  hour  of  the 
day,  from  the  time  of  their  morning  rides 
together  to  their  nightly  talks  before  the  fire, 
or,  as  the  evenings  grew  warmer,  on  the  south 
veranda.  Sybil's  tales  of  the  twins,  and  even 
of  the  boys,  seemed  endlessly  to  amuse  him; 
but  she  herself  amused  him  most  of  all  when 
she  talked  to  him  as  if  he  were  one  of  the 
children,  to  be  ordered  about  and  managed 
and  looked  after,  coaxed  and  petted  and 
scolded.  In  fact,  Sybil  had  been  at  Monte- 
bello  scarcely  a  month  before  she  was  man- 
94 


THE     COLONEL    WRITES     A    NOTE 

aging  everyone  there,  as  she  had  managed 
the  family  at  home !    ' 

But  it  agreed  with  them!  Miss  Sophia 
seemed  to  grow  younger  every  day,  and  Sybil 
was  extremely  popular  with  the  servants. 
For  one  thing,  as  Aunt  Sair'  Ann,  the  cook, 
said  to  her  husband,  Shem,  when  he  had  been 
telling  her  how  devoted  to  the  young  girl  the 
old  gentleman  was  becoming: 

"Missy  cert'n'y  is  makin'  Ol'  Marster  stand 
aroun';  an'  it's  my  opinion,  Shem,  dat  a  cer- 
tain amount  o'  bossin'  is  de  best  kind  o' 
spring  medicine  for  de  men  folks !" 

"Ain't  only  de  Gunnel,"  said  Shem,  with 
a  reminiscent  grin.  "Missy  come  out  'n  de 
po'ch  whiles  I  was  sweepin'  of  it  yestiddy 
mornin',  and  she  say,  'Shem,'  she  say,  'don't 
you  forget  to  sweep  under  de  mat!'  Land! 
I  mos'  jump  outen  my  skin,  Sair'  Ann !  It 
shore  did  sound  jes'  like  Ol'  Miss  herself  a 
talkin'.  Dat's  jest  de  way  she  used  to  do, 
come  out  to  de  door  an'  say,  'Shem,  don't 
forget  to  sweep  under  de  mat!'  Dat's  what 
ol'  Miss  used  to  say,  come  day  go  day,  year 
in,  year  out!" 

Sair'  Ann  shook  her  turbaned  head.  "I'se 
a  believer,  I  is,  an'  I  knows  right  well  folks 
95 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

don't  come  back  in  dis  world,  leastways  in 
de  flesh.  But  you  listen  to  what  I'm  tellin' 
you!  Ef  I  didn't  jest  know  dat,  Shem,  I 
sure  would  say  'twas  Ol'  Miss  herself  a 
talkin'  when  Missy  talks !" 

Shem  set  his  broom  in  the  corner,  peri- 
lously near  his  wife's  hot  stove,  and  put  his 
mouth  to  her  ear. 

"Sair'  Ann,"  he  whispered,  "who  you 
reckon  Ol'  Marse  done  took  Missy  for,  de 
night  she  come,  an'  he  looked  so  scared-like? 
Huh?" 

But  Aunt  Sair'  Ann  had  gray  hairs  of  ex- 
perience under  her  turban,  and  she  was  not 
going  to  be  led  into  dangerous  speculation 
by  any  husband  of  hers.  "You  go  'long  to 
yo'  work,  you  Shem,  an'  stop  a  tryin'  to 
probe  into  de  mystreeous !  You  leave  dat  to 
de  white  folks !  I  got  my  biscuit  to  beat  for 
breakfast !" 

One  day  Miss  Sophia,  who  had  been  com- 
plaining of  a  headache,  and  was  lying  on  the 
sofa  in  Sybil's  room,  watching  the  young  girl's 
busy  fingers  making  a  small  repair  on  one  of 
her  dresses,  said : 

"I  am  so  glad  to  see  the  way  your  dresses 
are  made,  my  dear.  Do  you  know,  I  never 
96 


THE    COLONEL    WRITES    A    NOTE 

quite  believed  that  ladies  were  wearing  the 
sort  of  things  I  have  occasionally  seen  pic- 
tures of!" 

She  laughed,  and  Sybil  found  something  ex- 
ceedingly touching  and  pathetic  in  that  little 
laugh. 

"I  was  sure  they  just  couldn't  wear  them, 
my  dear,  because  there  didn't  seem  to  be  any 
way  to  get  into  them !" 

Then,  seeing  Sybil's  look  of  astonishment, 
she  added :  "When  there  were  buttons  at  all, 
they  just  seemed  to  be  dotted  on  where  they 
could  not  be  needed!" 

"But  they  fasten  under  a  pleat  or  some- 
thing, with  hooks  and  eyes !"  cried  Sybil. 

"Yes,  I  know  that  now,"  Miss  Sophia  con- 
fided, "because  I — I  hope  you  won't  mind, 
my  dear — I  peeped  at  some  of  the  beautiful 
things  hanging  up  in  your  closet !" 

Sybil,  remembering  the  scant  simplicity  of 
her  wardrobe,  was  too  touched  to  reply;  and 
Miss  Sophia  added,  wistfully,  "Oh,  my  dear, 
that  little  muslin  with  the  lilac  sprigs  is  so 
exquisite!" 

Sybil  remembered  the  dress;  it  was  a 
"handdown"  from  Mother-dear's  wealthy 
school-friend  who  often  sent  boxes  of  things 
97 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

to  the  doctor's  house  to  be  made  over  for 
Mother-dear  and  the  girls.  Everyone  in  the 
family,  even  unobservant  Dick,  had  laughed 
at  Sybil  the  one  time  she  had  dared  to  appear 
in  the  lavender  lawn,  and  called  her  "Grand- 
ma"; and  when  she  put  it  into  Sybil's  trunk, 
Mother-dear  had  said,  laughing: 

"It's  a  perfectly  ridiculous  dress  for  you 
to  wear,  darling,  at  your  age;  but  we  don't 
know  what  facilities  for  laundry  you  may 
find,  and  it  may  be  useful." 

And  this  was  the  "sprigged  muslin"  Miss 
Sophia  so  greatly  admired !  A  sudden  in- 
spiration came  to  Sybil. 

"Cousin  Sophia,"  she  said,  "I  wonder  how 
you'd  look  in  that  dress!  Let's  try  it  on 
you!" 

Miss  Sophia's  cheeks  flushed.  "Oh,  I'm 
afraid  I'd  look  too — too — " 

But  Sybil  had  disappeared  into  the  depths 
of  the  closet,  in  a  moment  to  emerge;  and  in 
just  another  moment  she  was  helping  the  lit- 
tle lady  out  of  the  white  "josie"  that  Miss 
Sophia  had  been  taught  to  consider  the  proper 
garment  for  a  lady  who  was  not  feeling  well, 
and  into  the  lavender  dress. 

The  shoulders  drooped  on  Miss  Sophia's 

98 


THE  COLONEL  WRITES  A  NOTE 

tiny  frame,  and  the  skirt  was  what  Sybil 
called  "miles"  too  long;  but  the  sleeves,  that 
were  meant  to  be  half  length  on  Sybil,  came 
modestly  down  to  Miss  Sophia's  hands;  and 
certainly  the  color  was  becoming  to  the  dear 
little  soul's  soft  gray  curls  and  flushed  cheeks. 

"You  are  just  too  sweet  for  anything,"  Sy- 
bil cried.  "I'm  going  to  alter  it  a  little,  and 
then  you  must  wear  it  down  to  dinner." 

"Oh,  I  fear  I  couldn't!"  Miss  Sophia 
weakly  protested,  all  the  while  threading  a 
needle  and  beginning  to  rip  out  the  other 
sleeve.  "I  am  afraid  dear  Brother  will  think 
I  am  trying  to  appear  youthful!  I  shouldn't 
like  to  seem  ungenteel !" 

"I'm  sure  there's  nothing  ungenteel  about 
a  dress  I  have  worn  myself.  Cousin  Sophia !" 
Sybil  teased;  but  Miss  Sophia  could  never 
understand  joking. 

"Oh,  no ;  Oh,  no ;  I  didn't  mean  to  imply 
that,  my  dear!  And — Oh!  I  should  like  to 
wear  a  dress  that  didn't  show  its  fastening!" 

It  ended  in  Sybil's  making  over  several  of 

Miss  Sophia's  dresses,  to  her  intense  joy ;  and 

no  little  girl  in  her  Easter  hat  was  ever  more 

delighted  than  she,  when  the  Colonel  actually 

99 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

complimented  her  upon  her  appearance  in  the 
"sprigged  muslin." 

"Well,  Sophia,"  he  remarked,  when  she 
wavered  into  the  dining-room,  a  very  smiling 
Sybil  looking  over  her  shoulder,  "you  don't 
look  ill !  I  hope  you're  not  developing  whim- 
sies !" 

Miss  Sophia  was  passing  around  the  table 
to  her  own  place,  and  Sybil  gave  the  Colonel 
a  surreptitious  but  unmistakable  pinch  on  the 
arm,  and  vigorously  shook  her  head  at  him. 

"Hey?"  he  said,  looking  up  at  her;  but  Miss 
Sophia  thought  the  exclamation  meant  for 
herself. 

"I  feel  ve-ry  well  now.  Brother,  thank 
you!"  she  said,  hurriedly,  her  eyes  downcast 
in  such  a  flutter  of  self-consciousness  as  she 
had  not  felt  since  \}er  last  ball  in  '6i. 

Sybil  was  now  making  wonderful  faces  at 
the  old  gentleman,  who  in  return  was  staring 
at  her  in  amazement.  "Doesn't  Cousin  Sophia 
look  sweet?"  she  asked,  and  immediately 
shook  her  head  up  and  down  very  vigorously. 

Shem  precipitately  disappeared  into  the 
pantry,  and  the  Colonel  again  asked : 

"Hey?"  He  looked  from  Sybil  to  his  sis- 
ter, and  then  something  seemed  to  pierce  his 

lOO 


THE     COLONEL     WRITES     A    NOTE 

bewilderment.  "Oh !"  he  said-  "Oh !  Why, 
yes,  Sophia,  you  are  looking  very  well  in- 
deed!" 

Then  he  looked  at  Sybil  for  approval,  and 
when  she  beamed  upon  him  he  began  to  rub 
his  arm  where  she  had  pinched  it,  and  then 
shook  his  fist  at  her.  Sybil  laughed  silently, 
and  silently  clapped  her  hands.  Evidently  the 
Colonel  enjoyed  her  approval,  for  he  con- 
tinued : 

"You  look  very  well  indeed,  Sophia!" 

"Isn't  her  new  gown  becoming?"  Sybil 
asked. 

"Hey?"  said  the  Colonel,  as  if  wondering 
where  the  new  gown  might  be.  "Oh !  Oh, 
yes,  Sophia,  your  new  gown  becomes  you  very 
well,  very  well  indeed.  Never  saw  you  look- 
ing better!" 

Miss  Sophia  looked  up  for  an  instant  with 
rosy  cheeks,  and  eyes  misty  with  joy  at  his 
praise.  "Do — do  you  think  it — is  genteel, 
Brother  ?"  she  asked ;  and  again  Sybil  shook 
her  head  up  and  down  until  her  curls  bobbed. 

"Most  genteel,  Sophia,"  the  old  gentleman 
assured  her,  returning  Sybil's  smile  of  con- 
tentment. 

Indeed,  everyone  was  in  a  very  good  humor, 

lOI 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

and  it  promised  to  be  an  exceptionally  pleas- 
ant meal,  for  not  yet  had  Sybil  succeeded  in 
persuading  the  Colonel  entirely  to  control  his 
temper,  which  was  most  apt  to  explode  at  the 
table. 

But  alas  for  good  beginnings !  That  dinner 
was  destined  to  be  remembered  not  alone  for 
Miss  Sophia's  new  gown.  They  had  not 
reached  dessert  when  Sybil,  who  faced  the 
window,  exclaimed : 

"There's  someone  on  horseback  coming  up 
the  drive !"  It  was  the  first  time  she  had 
seen  a  stranger  enter  the  gate  of  Montebello. 

"Oh,  I  do  hope  it  is  Molly!" 

The  Colonel's  brows  drew  forbiddingly  to- 
gether, but  Sybil  pretended  not  to  notice  that, 
any  more  than  Miss  Sophia's  excitement. 

"No — it's  a  man — a  servant,  I  think !" 

"Keep  your  seat.  Miss !"  the  Colonel  thun- 
dered, as  she  was  rising  a  little,  the  better  to 
see  out  of  the  window.  Sybil  raised  her  eye- 
brows at  him,  as  she  sat  down,  and  the 
Colonel  looked  rather  ashamed. 

He  was  really  becoming  afraid  of  Sybil's 
eyebrows!  If  they  were  drawn  upwards,  it 
meant  that  she  was  surprised  at  his  display 
of  temper;  if  they  were  lowered. a  little,  it 

I02 


THE     COLONEL     WRITES     A    NOTE 

meant  that  she  was  hurt ;  and  above  all  things 
the  Colonel  was  beginning  to  want  to  please 
her.  No  doting  grandfather  could  have  been 
more  her  willing  slave;  and  perhaps  he  re- 
joiced in  his  pleasant  bondage  all  the  more 
because  it  was  so  novel.  More  than  once  he 
had  been  on  the  point  of  roaring,  had  caught 
a  glimpse  of  those  raised  eyebrows  of  sur- 
prise or  disdain,  and  had  almost  swallowed 
the  roar,  to  the  amazement  of  Miss  Sophia 
and  the  intense  delight  of  the  servants,  who 
had  quite  fallen  into  the  habit  of  having  to 
hasten  from  the  room,  or  smile  "befo'  de 
quality !" 

Now,  while  the  Colonel  was  fidgetting,  se- 
cretly ashamed  of  his  display  of  temper,  and 
a  good  deal  in  fear  of  what  Sybil  might  think 
or  say,  Shem  came  into  the  room  bearing  a 
letter  on  a  tray.  His  eyes  were  popping,  the 
whites  showing  like  half  moons;  his  bearing 
was  a  ludicrous  mixture  of  dignity  laboring 
under  excitement,  of  fear  and  delight. 

He  held  the  tray  at  arm's  length  toward 
the  Colonel,  who  glared  down  at  the  letter 
upon  it. 

"Take  that  away!"  he  thundered,  when  he 
had  seen  the  handwriting. 
103 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Shem  looked  at  Sybil — ^an  evidence  of  the 
place  in  the  household  that  the  servants,  as 
well  as  the  Colonel,  were  beginning  to  give 
her. 

"Do  you  hear  me?  Take  that  away!"  the 
Colonel  repeated,  while  Miss  Sophia  was 
wringing  her  hands  and  trembling,  murmur- 
ing, "Oh,  Brother!  Oh,  Brother!  O  dear! 
O  dear !" 

Only  Sybil  remained  calm;  it  was  the  very 
fact  that  she  always  did  remain  calm  which 
gave  her  the  mastery  of  every  situation  with 
the  irascible  old  gentleman. 

"Now,  Uncle,"  she  said  quietly,  "if  you 
don't  read  that  letter  you'll  die  of  curiosity!" 
Then  she  added,  with  a  smile,  "And  so 
will  I!" 

"It's  no  affair  of  yours,  Miss !"  the  Colonel 
thundered  valiantly,  in  a  last  effort  to  carry 
his  own  way.  "I  say  take  that  thing  away!" 
he  roared  at  Shem. 

Sybil  calmly  reached  across,  took  the  note 
from  the  tray,  opened  the  envelope,  and  laid 
the  letter  in  front  of  the  Colonel.  "Now 
you  know.  Uncle  dear,  excitement's  very  bad 
for  you!  And  you'll  make  yourself  hoarse, 
104 


THE     COLONEL     WRITES     A    NOTE 

if  you  go  on  like  that!  Come,  now,  read 
your  letter,  like  a  good  little  boy!" 

The  Colonel  gasped.  "What's  that,  what's 
that  ?    Do  you  dare  to  call  me  a  child.  Miss  ?" 

Sybil  smiled  at  him  serenely.  "Only  some- 
times, Uncle  dear!" 

The  old  gentleman  glared  at  her;  then  the 
corners  of  his  mouth  began  to  twitch.  "Here ! 
Read  it  yourself,  you  saucy  piece !"  he  grum- 
bled, and  tossed  the  letter  to  her. 

Dimpling,  she  read  it  aloud. 


"  Mr.  Rutherford  presents  his  compliments  to 
Colonel  Crockett,  and  hopes  it  may  be  conve- 
nient for  Miss  Crockett,  Miss  Crawford  and 
Colonel  Crockett  to  receive  Miss  Molly  Ruther- 
ford and  himself  this  afternoon." 


"Oh,  how  lovely!"  she  cried,  waving  the 
note.  "Now  we  shall  see  Molly,  at  last! 
Oh-eeeee !" 

The  Colonel's  lips  were  pressed  together  in 
a  straight  line,  and  Miss  Sophia,  either  from 
wonder  or  fright,  was  motionless,  her  little 
hands  in  her  lap,  her  eyes  fixed  on  her 
brother. 

"They  shall  not  enter  my  gates!"  said  the 
105 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Colonel;    and   the   calm   decisiveness    in    his 
voice  was  far  more  impressive  than  his  roars. 

Sybil  gasped.  "What  on  earth  do  you 
mean?"  she  cried. 

"They  shall  not  enter  my  gates,"  the  Colonel 
repeated.  "I  mean  precisely  what  I  say." 
Then,  to  Shem,  "There  is  no  answer  to  that 
letter.     Send  the  man  home." 

For  a  moment  Sybil  stared  at  him,  wide- 
eyed,  too  surprised  to  speak.  Then  a  wave  of 
color  flooded  her  face,  and  she  arose. 

"I  must  ask  to  be  excused  for  a  moment," 
she  said  formally,  to  Miss  Sophia,  who  was 
now  trembling  and  wringing  her  hands  again. 
Then  she  walked  out  of  the  room  with  her 
head  held  very  high. 

In  a  few  moments,  however,  she  was  back, 
bringing  the  Colonel's  own  inkstand,  his  pen, 
and  a  sheet  of  note  paper.  She  put  them  on 
the  table  in  front  of  him. 

"Now  what  do  you  mean  by  that.  Miss?" 
demanded  the  Colonel,  looking  up  at  her  with 
a  tremendous  frown. 

Sybil  was  inwardly  quaking,  but  she  spoke 
precisely  as  she  would  have  spoken  to  Hallam 
or  Eohs  or  Bunny. 

io6 


THE     COLONEL     WRITES     A    NOTE 

"There  are  your  writing  things,  Uncle 
dear,"  she  said. 

Miss  Sophia  began  to  weep,  and  the  Colonel 
was  speechless.  Sybil  slid  into  her  place  at 
the  table,  and  in  a  moment  looked  up,  with  as 
good  an  imitation  of  surprise  as  she  knew  how 
to  assume. 

"Didn't  I  bring  everything?"  she  asked. 

Then  the  Colonel  waved  his  hand  vigor- 
ously toward  the  writing  things.  "What  did 
you  bring  those  things  in  here  for?"  he  de- 
manded, roaring  his  loudest.  Sybil  nerved 
herself  to  reply  calmly. 

"Why,  so  that  you  could  answer  Mr. 
Rutherford,  of  course,"  she  said.  Then  she 
put  her  head  on  one  side  and  smiled  at  the 
Colonel.  "Oh,  I've  been  in  Maryland  long 
enough  to  know  something  of  Southern  polite- 
ness. Uncle  dear!  I  knew  you  were  only 
making  believe  when  you  said  the  note  did  not 
need  an  answer!" 

"What?"  exclaimed  the  Colonel,  sinking 
back  in  his  chair. 

"Oh,  yes!     I  see  through  you,  you  know! 

You  couldn't  let  a  lady  think  you  didn't  want 

to   see  her — now   could   you?     That  would 

scarcely  be   Southern  hospitality,  would   it? 

107 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

And  she's  my  friend,  too,  you  know !  I  knew 
you  just  didn't  want  to  leave  Aunt  Sair'  Ann's 
fried  chicken  to  go  to  the  library !  So  I 
brought  the  library  to  you— all  that  you'll  need 
of  it  for  writing  one  short  note!" 

Shem  had  been  standing  behind  his  mas- 
ter's chair,  still  holding  the  tray,  a  picture  of 
distress ;  now  he  hastily  left  the  room,  his 
hand  over  his  mouth. 

But  the  Colonel  was  not  to  be  managed  so 
easily.  He  glared  at  Sybil,  who  was  trying 
to  appear  unaware  of  it.  He  pounded  his 
fist  upon  the  table. 

"Young  lady,"  he  said,  sternly,  "you  go  too 
far.  I  will  not  be  treated  like  a  child,  d'ye 
hear?  I — say — those — people — shall  not  en- 
ter my  gates,  and  they  shall  not,  d'ye  hear? 
I  say,  d'ye  hear?" 

Something  seemed  to  rise  in  Sybil's  throat, 
and  a  wave  of  loneliness  and  homesickness 
swept  over  her.  She  flushed  deeply,  and  faced 
him. 

"Oh,  very  well.  Uncle;  I  hear  you  very 
well,  but  I  have  something  to  say,  too !  I  have 
been  your  guest  for  five  weeks,  and  I  am 
deeply  grateful  for  my  delightful  visit;  but 
I  am  going  home  to-morrow  1" 
io8 


THE  COLONEL  WRITES  A  NOTE 

"What  ?"  exclaimed  the  Colonel,  while  Miss 
Sophia  reached  across  the  table  toward  Sybil, 
as  if  to  lay  a  detaining  hand  upon  her. 

"Certainly,"  said  Sybil,  "I  am  not  going  to 
remain  where  my  friends  are  not  welcome! 
Mr.  Rutherford  and  Molly  are  my  friends, 
I  am  sure;  they  told  me  that  I  might  call 
upon  them  for  anything,  if  I  needed  them. 
I  shall  call  upon  them,  for — for  shelter" — 
she  had  grown  very  dramatic — "until  I  can 
telegraph  for  Dad  to  come  and  take  me  home ! 
I  am  not  going  to  remain  where  I  am  roared 
at,  and  pounded  at,  and  never  spoken  to  by 
my  own  name!  I  am  not  going  to  stay  in 
your  old  house,  with  everything  in  it  old  and 
everybody  in  it  old,  and  where  I  feel  like  a 
bird  in  a  cage  or  some  poor  thing  in  jail !  I 
am  not  going  to  stay  here  another  day !  You 
are  a  cross,  dictatorial,  disagreeable  old  man! 
And  when  I've  been  just  longing  to  see  Molly 
ever  since  I  came,  and  now  she  wants  to  come, 
you  say  she  shall  not  enter  your  gates !  Very 
well,  very  well !  And  /  say  I  will  not  remain 
inside  of  them!  I — I  thought  I  was  begin- 
ning to  1-love  you,  and  I  thought — you — liked 
me — a  little  bit,  too !    I  meant  to  do  you  some 

good  by  coming  down  to  visit  you,  and " 

109 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

She  suddenly  burst  into  tears,  and  fled  from 
the  room. 

"God  bless  my  soul !"  said  the  Colonel,  as 
he  sank  back  in  his  chair,  as  if  too  weak  to 
do  anything  else,  staring  into  space  in  the 
direction  from  which  Sybil  had  faced  him 
with  her  unforeseen  display  of  anger.  Miss 
Sophia  was  crying,  in  the  utmost  distress. 

"Oh,  Brother,  what  have  you  done?  Oh, 
Brother,  what  have  you  done?" 

At  last  the  Colonel  roused  himself,  and 
thundered  back  at  her.  "Sophia,  will  you 
behave  like  a  sensible  woman?  Stop  that 
noise,  stop  it,  I  say!  Bless  my  soul  and 
body !  With  these  women  in  the  house,  a  man 
can't  call  his  soul  his  own !" 

Then,  with  an  accompaniment  of  growls, 
the  old  gentleman  drew  toward  him  the  sheet 
of  paper  Sybil  had  brought,  wrote  a  few  lines 
upon  it,  put  it  into  an  envelope  which  he 
addressed,  and  called  out: 

"Shem!  You  Shem!  Take  this  out  to 
Mr,  Rutherford's  boy,  and  go  tell  Miss — 
Miss  Sybil  to  come  down  to  her  dinner." 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Shem,  rolling  his  eyes  and 
looking  as  if  the  heavens  were  about  to  fall. 

The  Colonel  and  Miss  Sophia  made  a  weak 
no 


THE  COLONEL  WRITES  A  NOTE 

attempt  at  eating,  until  the  old  negro  sidled 
back  into  the  room. 

"Well?"  asked  the  Colonel. 

"Please,  sir,  Cunnel,  Missy  she  say,  she — 
she  say — she  say  she  don'  want  no  mo'  dinner ! 
She  say,  she  say" — Shem  looked  as  if  he 
were  ready  to  run  or  dodge — "she  say  she  too 
busy  packin'  up  her  things  to  come  down!" 

Miss  Sophia  put  her  hands  over  her  face, 
and  the  old  gentleman  violently  pushed  back 
his  chair,  stalked  out  of  the  dining-room  to 
his  library,  and  slammed  the  door  behind 
him. 


VIII 
THE  COLONEL  SURRENDERS 

ONCE  in  her  own  room,  with  the  door 
shut  and  locked,  Sybil  threw  herself 
on  the  bed  in  a  torrent  of  tears.  The  struggle 
with  the  fiery  old  gentleman  had  cost  her  much 
in  strength  and  courage.  It  had  been  a  battle 
to  the  death,  and  she  had  lost ;  she  was  obliged 
to  admit  that  much,  although  she  had  tried 
to  cover  her  retreat  with  a  great  show  of 
independence;  and  Sybil  hated  to  be  beaten 
in  any  game.  Then,  too,  there  was  the  home- 
sickness and  loneliness  of  the  weeks  she  had 
spent  quite  alone  with  these  old  people.  She 
was  glad  that  she  had  been  able  to  conceal  it 
from  the  Colonel,  and  especially  from  Cousin 
Sophia ;  but  the  fact  remained,  and  was  none 
the  less  real,  that  she  had  been  terribly,  mis- 
erably homesick.  Every  sign  of  affection 
from  Miss  Sophia,  every  little  attention  from 
the  Colonel,  had  made  her  ashamed  of  want- 

112 


THE   COLONEL   SURRENDERS 

ing  so  much  to  leave  them,  yet,  at  the  same 
time,  only  served  to  remind  her  all  the  more 
of  home,  since  she  was  forever  wishing  for 
one  of  the  boys  or  the  twins  to  share  each 
new  pleasure  with  her.  She  had  longed  for 
someone  of  her  own  age,  and  until  to-day 
had  longed  in  vain ;  and  now,  when  it  seemed 
that  Molly  would  at  last  come  to  see  her,  the 
Colonel  had  been  horrid  and  disagreeable  and 
unreasonable.  .  .  . 

Her  stock  of  adjectives  was  inadequate  to 
the  state  of  her  feelings !  The  Colonel  was 
everything  disagreeable  that  she  could  think 
of — and  then,  with  the  generous  little  laugh 
that  had  made  the  young  Crawfords  love  her, 
poor  Sybil  had  to  admit,  ruefully,  that  she  had 
been  just  as  horrid  as  the  Colonel  himself ! 
Her  lips  trembled  anew  at  the  memory  of  it, 
and  her  face  flushed.  Such  a  display  of  tem- 
per! Never  in  her  life  had  she  behaved  so 
badly!  How  should  she  ever  dare  to  confess 
to  Mother-dear  and  Dad?  She  knew  just 
what  they  would  do  when  she  told  them. 
Dad's  eyes  would  look  sad  and  tired,  the  way 
they  always  did  when  he  was  worried  over  a 
very  ill  patient  or  one  of  the  boys  had  to 
be  "talked  to";  and  Mother-dear  would  put 
113 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

her  beloved  arms  about  Sybil's  shoulders,  and 
press  her  cheek  to  Sybil's,  and  say,  in  a  tone 
that  would  go  to  anybody's  heart,  "Why,  my 
little  daughter!" 

So  it  was  a  very  disconsolate  young  woman 
who  sat  on  the  side  of  the  big  four-poster, 
with  a  wet  ball  of  a  handkerchief  squeezed 
up  in  one  hand. 

"I  don't  know  what  on  earth  possessed  me," 
she  said  to  herself.  "I  must  have  caught  it 
from  the  Colonel!" 

She  got  up  and  crossed  the  room  to 
put  some  cold  water  on  her  burning  cheeks; 
and  it  was  just  at  that  moment  that  Shem 
knocked  timidly  at  her  door. 

"Please,  Missy,  please,  lil  Missy,  Marster 
say  yo'  dinner  sholy  will  be  col'  ef  you-all 
don'  come  down  rale  quick!" 

"I  don't  want  any  dinner!"  Sybil  said, 
choking,  yet  loud  enough  for  the  words  to 
reach  old  Shem.  And  to  herself  she  added, 
"The  idea!  He  thinks  I  will  allow  this  just 
to  blow  over,  does  he?  Well,  I'll  show  him! 
I'll  stand  by  what  I  said!  I  will  not  stay 
here!    I  will  not,  I  will  not!" 

"Please,  lil  Missy,  de  Cunnel  he  say  he 
persents  his  complimints,  an'  won't  you 
114 


THE    COLONEL   SURRENDERS 

please,  Miss,  come  down  an'  finish  yo'  dinner 
befo'  it  gits  cold?" 

"Tell  the  Colonel  I  am  too  busy  packing 
up  to  go  home!"'  Sybil  said,  and  listened  to 
old  Shem's  horrified  exclamation  and  his 
shuffling  footsteps  as  he  went  away  with  this 
dreadful  message. 

Then  she  began  to  move  about  the  room, 
making  a  half-hearted  effort  at  collecting  her 
belongings.  It  was  altogether  inconsistent, 
but  she  could  not  help  wondering  what  the 
Colonel  would  say  and  do  when  Shem  re- 
peated her  message.  She  expected  to  hear  a 
roar;  but  none  came.  Somehow  she  was  be- 
ginning to  feel  very  uncomfortable  in  the 
region  near  her  heart. 

"Well,  I  don't  care!"  she  said  to  herself. 
"He  had  no  right  to  be  so  unreasonable!" 
Then  she  took  some  dresses  out  of  her  closet, 
and  laid  them  on  her  bed. 

"I  suppose  the  poor  cross  old  dear  really 
didn't  mean  a  word  of  it,  in  his  heart,"  she 
said,  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  quite 
unconscious  of  the  fact  that  her  best  white 
muslin  was  dragging  on  the  floor.  "He  does 
behave  just  like  a  spoiled  baby!"  she  said, 
"5 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

half  laughing.     "Well,  he  has  got  to  be  dis- 
ciplined, that's  all !" 

She  laid  the  dress  on  a  chair,  and  crossing 
the  room,  pulled  out  her  top  bureau  drawer 
and  dumped  its  contents  upon  the  bed — a  med- 
ley of  ribbons  and  letters  and  handkerchiefs, 
shoe-laces,  hair-pins,  spools,  faded  flowers, 
and  half  a  hundred  more  of  those  articles 
that,  entirely  of  their  own  accord  and,  of 
course,  entirely  unassisted,  somehow  or  other 
will  get  into  a  girl's  top  drawer. 

Sybil  looked  at  the  mass  With  dismay. 
"Mercy  me!"  she  exclaimed.  "I  ought  to  be 
ashamed  of  myself!  This  is  as  mussy  as 
Uncle's  library  table,  or  his  corner  of  rubbish 
in  the  hall !  It  little  becomes  you,  Sybil  Craw- 
ford, to  scold  and  fly  out  at  that  poor  old 
man,  when  you're  just  as  untidy  and  just  as 
cross  and  disagreeable  as  he  is !" 

Her  anger  had  disappeared,  and  she  sat 
down  in  a  rocking-chair  to  make  some  sort  of 
order  out  of  the  chaos  on  the  bed.  While 
she  assorted  things  into  little  piles  she  went 
on  talking  to  herself,  in  the  way  she  had 
adopted  since  there  had  been  no  twins  or 
Mother-dear  passing  in  and  out  of  her  room 
to  talk  to. 

ii6 


THE    COLONEL   SURRENDERS 

"Well,"  she  said,  "I'm  not  going  to  stay 
here,  anyway,  if  that's  the  way  he  is  going 
to  do!  Not  let  Molly  come  to  see  me!  I 
never  heard  of  such  a  thing!  And  not  even 
to  answer  the  note!  It's  outrageous!  And 
there's  something  queer  about  this  place  any- 
way. Here  I've  been  over  a  month,  and  I 
haven't  seen  a  soul  outside  of  the  family. 
When  I  asked  Cousin  Sophia  if  people  around 
here  didn't  call,  she  just  trotted  off  looking  as 
frightened  as  if  I  were  a  bomb !  And  when 
I  tried  to  get  some  information  from  the 
servants,  Jinny  rolled  her  eyes  and  giggled, 
and  Aunt  Sair'  Ann  said  she  hadn't  any  time 
to  waste  on  'specurations' !  And  now  when 
somebody  wants  to  come.  Uncle  won't  let 
them!" 

Her  courage  grew  with  the  repeating  of  her 
wrongs.  "He  just  wants  to  keep'  me  shut  up 
here  for  the  rest  of  my  life,  I  suppose,  the 
way  he  has  kept  poor  little  darling  Cousin 
Sophia!  I  suppose  he'd  like  me  to  tremble 
and  cry,  too,  as  she  does!  Well,  I'll  show 
him!" 

Her  eyes  filled  with  tears.  "And  I  want 
to  see  my  own  darling  Dad,  anyway !    I  don't 

want  to  stay  in  this  old " 

117 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

A  faint  knock  sounded  upon  her  door;  yet 
she  knew  it  was  not  timid  enough  to  be  Miss 
Sophia's.  She  listened  for  an  instant,  with- 
out moving;  the  knock  was  repeated,  but  now 
sharply,  insistently.  Still  she  did  not  speak, 
but  looked  over  her  shoulder  toward  the 
door ;  and  a  third  time  the  knock  came,  at  last 
accompanied  by  the  words : 

"Er— it's  half  past  two !" 

Slowly  a  smile  spread  over  Sybil's  face,  and 
she  whispered  to  herself,  "Oh,  the  poor  old 
dear!  He's  come  to  make  up!"  Aloud  she 
only  said,  coolly: 

"Thank  you  very  much !" 

"Er — you'll  be  dressed  by  four  o'clock, 
won't  you?"  She  wondered  what  that  indi- 
cated, but  the  voice  went  on.  "Because  Miss 
Rutherford  and  her  grandfather  will  prob- 
ably be  here  by  that  time!" 

"Am  I  to  meet  them  outside  the  gate?" 
Sybil  asked,  trying  to  make  her  voice  sound 
very  stern. 

For  a  moment  there  was  no  reply ;  then  the 
old  gentleman  said,  tremblingly,  pleadingly, 
"Sybilla!" 

It  was  only  the  second  time  he  had  called 
her  by  her  name,  and  Sybil's  expression  of 
ii8 


THE   COLONEL   SURRENDERS 

mischief  softened;  she  went  to  the  door  and 
opened  it. 

"Uncle!"  she  said,  and  held  out  her  hand. 

But  the  Colonel  came  into  her  room,  and 
stood  before  her.  "Sybilla,"  he  said,  "don't 
go  away!" 

"Uncle!    I "    She  was  so  touched  that 

she  did  not  quite  dare  to  trust  herself  to 
speak;  and  evidently  the  Colonel  misunder- 
stood her  reticence. 

"Don't  go  away,  Sybilla !  We  have  grown 
to  love  you  very  dearly;  and  we  need  you 
here,  Sybilla!     Don't  go  away!" 

"Uncle!" 

"I — I'm  not  what  I  ought  to  be.  I  am 
a  cross  and  disagreeable  old  man,  as  you  said ; 
but  won't  you  forgive  me,  Sybilla?  I  will 
do  anything  you  say,  if  you  will  stay  here. 
I-^it  would  be  very  hard  to  do  without  you 
now,  my  child !" 

She  put  her  hand  on  his  arm  and  tried  to 
speak,  but  he  was  so  intent  on  his  pleading 
that  he  would  not  wait  to  hear. 

"I  never  had  a  little  girl,  but  I  had  a  boy; 
and  I  lost  my  boy  through  anger,  through  my 
own  anger.  He  went  away.  And  now — ^you 
119 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

say — ^you  are  going  away — too!  Don't  leave 
us  two  old  people  here  alone  again,  Sybilla !" 

His  voice  trembled  pitifully,  and  the  proud 
old  figure  looked  bent  and  old  and  feeble. 
There  were  tears  in  Sybil's  eyes  when,  at 
last,  he  looked  up  for  her  answer. 

"Why,  Uncle  dear !  Uncle !  I  didn't  really 
mean  it,  and  I  was  cross  and  disagreeable, 
too,  and  you  are  a  dear  old  darling  Uncle, 
and  so  is  Cousin  Sophia — I  mean — she's  dear 
and  darling,  too,  and  there  isn't  anything  to 
forgive,  except  that  you  must  forgive  me !" 

The  old  gentleman  put  his  hand  on  her 
head,  and  bent  it  back  until  her  face  was  up- 
turned to  his.  "Don't  go  away,  Sybilla!"  he 
repeated.  The  fear  of  her  leaving  him  seemed 
to  crowd  everything  else  from  his  thoughts. 
"I've  lost  so  much,  little  girl!  I  couldn't 
bear  to  lose  you,  too !" 

Impulsively  she  threw  her  arms  around  his 
neck,  although  she  had  to  reach  up  rather 
far  to  do  so,  and  burst  into  tears;  and  not 
until  he  had  to  -comfort  her,  did  the  old 
gentleman  seem  to  be  reassured, 

"There,  there!"  he  said,  at  last,  when  he 
had  almost  patted  her  hair  down.  "There, 
there !    That  will  do,  that  will  do !"    He  was 

I20 


THE    COLONEL   SURRENDERS 

rapidly  becoming  himself  again,  as  the  return 
of  his  crustiness  bore  witness.  "Don't  be 
womanish,  Miss!  This  is  all  Sophia's  fault! 
She's  forever  driveling,  and  now  you've 
caught  it !" 

Sybil  drew  off,  laughing  through  her  tears, 
"Oh !  Aren't  you  ashamed  of  yourself  to  talk 
like  that !  And  so  soon  after  we've  made  up !" 
she  cried. 

The  Colonel  tried  to  glare  and  look  fero- 
cious, his  eyebrows  working  at  a  great  rate. 
"Hey?  What's  that?  What  d'ye  mean, 
Miss?" 

And  when  Sybil,  still  laughing,  shook  her 
head  at  him,  and  he  found  that  he  could  no 
longer  keep  up  the  pretence  of  anger,  and  the 
corners  of  his  mouth  were  beginning  to  twitch, 
he  turned  and  stalked  out  of  the  room,  and 
Sybil  heard  him  stamping  down  the  stairs 
and  roaring: 

"Shem!  You  Shem!  So — phi — a!  Jinny! 
Shem !  Here !  What's  the  matter  with  every- 
body in  this  house  to-day!  Wind's  from  the 
east,  got  into  everybody,  can't  find  a  soul  to 

do  what "  until  his  voice  disappeared  by 

way  of  the  front  door. 

Then  she  sat  down  on  the  bed,  among  the 

121 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

medley  from  her  top  drawer,  and  laughed. 
"Oh,  the  great,  big,  dear,  cross,  kind,  dis- 
agreeable spoiled  old  darling  thing!"  she  said, 
and  wiped  away  her  tears. 


A    DAY    OF    SURPRISES 

WHEN  Sybil  came  down  to  the  hall  a£ 
a  quarter  to  four,  dressed  in  a  fresh 
pink  lawn  that  Mother-dear  had  just  sent  her, 
she  found  Miss  Sophia  awaiting  her  at  the 
foot  of  the  stairs. 

The  little  lady  fluttered  toward  her.  "Oh, 
my  dear,  I  am  so  excited!"  she  cried.  "It 
has  been  so  long  since  I've  received  visitors, 
I'm  afraid  I've  forgotten  my  manners !  And 
Sair'  Ann  wants  to  know  which  to  send  up, 
the  fruit  cake  or  some  of  Miss-Sally- Wither- 
spoon's-pound-with-raisins,  and  Jinny  has  a 
fit  of  the  giggles,  and  has  torn  her  best  apron 
right  down  the  front  breadth,  and  I'm  sure 
I  don't  know  whether  to  wear  my  hair  brooch 
with  pearls,  or  the  cameo.  Oh,  my  dear !  Do 
tell  me  which  looks  best  with  these  lavender 
sprigs !" 

Miss  Sophia  was  breathless  at  last,  and 
123 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Sybil's  eyes  were  dancing  with  suppressed 
merriment.  "You  darling !"  she  cried,  kissing 
the  flushed,  delicate  old  cheek.  "The  hair 
brooch,  of  course,  and  Miss  Sally's  raisin 
cake,  by  all  means ;  and  I'll  go  see  what  I  can 
do  to  Jinny  to  calm  her  nerves !" 

Miss  Sophia  trotted  across  the  hall  to  the 
big,  gold- framed  mirror  that  hung  near  the 
front  door,  to  pin  the  hair  brooch  in  the  lace 
at  her  throat;  but  Sybil  was  not  destined  to 
calm  Jinny's  nerves  that  day.  As  she  turned 
toward  the  back  of  the  house  the  Colonel  ap- 
peared in  the  library  door. 

"Oh !"  cried  Sybil,  holding  up  her  hands  in 
admiration.  "Oh !  You  magnificent  person ! 
Oh,  Uncle,  turn  around  and  let  me  look  at 
you!" 

"Tut,  tut,  tut!"  the  Colonel  protested;  but 
there  was  a  ring  of  pleasure  in  his  tone  that 
could  not  be  suppressed.  "I've  no  patience 
with  your  prinkings !  Sophia,  will  you  be- 
have like  a  sensible  woman !" 

For  at  Sybil's  exclamation,  Miss  Sophia  had 
trotted  back  and  was  holding  up  her  hands, 
just  as  Sybil  was,  in  admiration.  The  Colonel 
had  discarded  his  usual  baggy  gray  suit,  with 
its  dragging  pockets  and  trousers  that  were 
124 


A   DAY   OF    SURPRISES 

creased  everywhere  save  down  the  front;  he 
was  arrayed  in  black  coat  and  striped  trousers 
of  modern  cut,  that  seemed  just  from  the 
tailor's  hands,  and  the  narrow  black  string  tie 
which  he  had  invariably  worn  was  replaced 
by  a  broad  four-in-hand  of  black  brocade. 
He  stood  in  the  door  nervously  winding  his 
watch,  from  which  hung  a  bunch  of  seals 
instead  of  the  usual  chain  of  faded,  woven 
hair. 

"Uncle!"  Sybil  rushed  up  to  him,  and  tak- 
ing his  arm  whirled  him  around.  "Cousin 
Sophia!  Look!  Look  at  him!  Isn't  he  the 
most  bee-autiful  creature  you  ever  saw!" 

The  Colonel  was  still  growling  a  little 
shamefacedly,  but  Miss  Sophia  and  Sybil 
were  long  past  noticing  that. 

"Brother!  Oh,  Brother!  Where  did  you 
get  those  clothes  ?  Why,  I've  never  seen  them 
before,  and  I've  never  seen  you  look  so  hand- 
some !" 

"He's  the  handsomest  thing  in  the  world!" 
cried  Sybil,  still  dancing  about  him. 

The  old  gentleman  had  recovered  from  his 

first  bashfulness.     "Mind  your  own  business, 

Sophia !"  he  said ;  but  he  was  smiling,    "Sent 

to  Balt'mer   for  'em.     You  with  your  lilac 

125 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

fripperies,  and  Missy  here  with  folderols  and 
fiddle-de-dees — reckon  I  can  have  new  clothes, 
too !" 

Sybil  laughed  out,  merrily;  the  idea  of  the 
Colonel's  childlike  jealousy  of  Miss  Sophia's 
lavender-sprigged  muslin  was  too  utterly  lu- 
dicrous !  What  she  might  have  said,  however, 
remained  unuttered.  In  their  excitement,  they 
had  not  heard  the  approaching  wheels,  but 
now,  at  the  sound  of  steps  on  the  veranda, 
they  all  turned,  jumping  as  if  they  were 
children  caught  at  some  naughtiness. 

Sybil  and  Molly  flew  toward  each  other, 
and  Mr.  Rutherford  went  up  to  the  little  lady 
of  the  house. 

"Sophia,"  he  said,  bending  over  her  trem- 
bling hand,  "it  is  many  years  since  we  met! 
I  hope  I  find  you  as  well  as  you  are  charm- 
ing!" 

Then  he  took  the  Colonel's  outstretched 
hand,  and  the  two  old  men  stood  so  for  a 
long  moment,  hands  clasped,  looking  into  each 
other's  eyes,  while  Molly  pressed  Sybil's  arm, 
as  if  to  call  her  attention  to  them. 

"William,"  said  Mr.  Rutherford  at  last, 
"the  years  do  a  great  deal  to  make  us  forget !" 

The  Colonel  shook  his  hand.  "I  don't  for- 
126 


A   DAY   OF    SURPRISES 

get,  Tom,"  he  said,  sadly.  "But  I  reckon  we 
may  as  well  agree  that  we've  both  been  in 
the  right,  and  begin  over  again !" 

The  humorous  twist  of  his  lips  interpreted 
the  true  meaning  of  his  little  speech;  evi- 
dently Mr.  Rutherford  understood,  for  he 
said : 

"Yes,  I  reckon  that's  the  best  way,  William ! 
And  we'll  blame  these  young  ladies  for  what- 
ever comes  of  it!" 

Sybil  introduced  her  friend,  and  when  the 
Colonel  and  Mr.  Rutherford  were  deep  in 
conversation,  and  Miss  Sophia  had  tiptoed  out 
to  the  pantry  to  oversee  the  serving  of  Miss 
Sally  Witherspoon's  raisin-cake  and  the  straw- 
berry sherbet,  Molly  and  Sybil,  on  the  big 
sofa  in  the  drawing-room,  were  doing  their 
best  to  make  up  for  lost  time. 

"I've  coaxed  and  bullied  and  teased  Grand- 
father every  day,  honey,  to  bring  me  over 
here ;  but  there's  something  between  those  two 
old  darlings,"  said  Molly,  "and  they  have  not 
spoken  for  years.  And  they  are  brothers-in- 
law,  too,  you  know!" 

"No,  I  didn't  know  it!  I  don't  know  a 
thing !"  Sybil  said,  pouting  a  little. 

"Well,  I'll  tell  you  all  I  know,  though  it 
127 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

isn't  much,"  said  Molly.  "The  Colonel's  wife 
was  my  great-aunt  Sybilla ;  it's  a  horrid  thing 
to  say,  but  I — I  think  our  family  didn't  like 
her  marrying  your  uncle,  for  some  reason 
or  other!" 

Sybil  laughed,  "Dreadful  of  them!"  she 
said.  "But  since  they  are  two  generations 
back  of  us,  I  don't  think  we  need  harbor  it 
up  against  each  other,  Molly  dear!  So 
Uncle's  wife  was  named  Sybilla!" 

Molly  nodded.  "I  suppose  your  father 
named  you  after  her,"  she  said.  "You  see, 
she  was  his  aunt  or  cousin  or  something! 
And  I  suppose  that's  why  Grandfather  seemed 
startled  when  I  told  him  your  name,  that  day 
on  the  landing." 

But  Sybil  knew  more  of  herself,  and  her 
actual  relationship  to  the  Crawford  family, 
than  Molly  did.  Why,  indeed,  she  wondered, 
had  she  been  named  Sybilla?  Was  it  merely 
a  coincidence?  Yet  the  name  was  certainly 
not  a  common  one! 

"Well,  I  shouldn't  worry  about  it,  anyway, 
if  I  were  you!"  said  Molly,  noticing  her 
moment  of  abstraction.  "How  do  you  like 
Montebello  ?" 

"I  love  it,"  Sybil  replied.  "But— IMolIy, 
128 


A  DAY   OF   SURPRISES 

please  answer  this — why,  why  do  these  old 
people  live  so  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the 
neighborhood  ?  I've  been  here  over  a  month, 
and  you  are  the  first  souls  I  have  seen  from 
outside  Montebello.  And  when  I  even  men- 
tion that  to  Cousin  Sophia,  she  runs  away 
like  the  White  Rabbit!" 

Molly's  face  had  grown  thoughtful  and  a 
little  reserved.  "I  really  don't  know  anything 
about  it,  dear,"  she  said.  "Of  course  I  have 
wondered,  too;  I  even  asked  Mamma,  and 
she  replied  that  it  rested  entirely  with  the 
Colonel,  that  he  had  closed  his  gates  and  his 
house  to  everybody,  years  and  years  ago.  But 
she  wouldn't  tell  me  anything  more."  After 
a  pause  she  added,  "Have  you  seen  the 
Hermit?" 

"Hermit  ?  The  man  who  lives  in  that  house 
we  saw  from  the  boat?    Why,  no!" 

"I  just  wondered,"  said  Molly,  feebly. 

"But — but  you  wouldn't  have  asked  that, 
if  it  hadn't  some  connection  with — with  us!" 
Sybil  suddenly  found  herself  arrayed  with 
all  her  strength  of  loyalty  on  the  side  of  the 
Colonel;  she  could  not  have  told  why,  but 
at  the  first  breath  or  shadow  of  criticisar  her 
heart  was  up  in  arms  for  him. 
129 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"I  really  don't  know  a  thing  about  him," 
Molly  repeated,  "but  his  house,  you  know,  is 
on  land  that  used  to  belong  to  Montebello!" 

"But — but  I  have  been  all  over  the  place, 
time  and  again,  with  Uncle !  I've  never  seen 
it!" 

Molly  gave  a  little  shrug,  as  if  to  disclaim 
any  responsibility  for  whatever  might  be. 
"Well,  I'm  sure  I  can't  make  it  out!  I've 
tried  again  and  again  to  find  out  about  him, 
and  so  has  my  brother  Jack;  but  whenever 
we  ask  any  of  the  older  people  who  might 
know  something,  they  immediately  look  as  if 
we  had  trodden  on  their  toes,  and  they  were 
trying  not  to  show  how  it  hurt.  Then  they 
tell  us — perhaps  not  in  so  many  words,  but 
just  as  plainly  as  if  they  did — that  we  are 
impertinent  children  and  mustn't  ask  ques- 
tions beyond  our  years!" 

Sybil  laughed  merrily.  "Oh,  how  the  twins 
would  love  this !"  she  cried. 

"You  dear!"  said  Molly.  "I  just  know 
you've  been  homesick,  all  alone  here  by  your- 
self!  But  now  that  Grandfather  has  forced 
his  way  in,  we  certainly  must  see  a  lot  of 
each  other." 

That  day  was  to  hold  one  more  excitement 

130 


A   DAY   OF    SURPRISES 

for  Sybil.  The  Colonel  had  helped  Molly  into 
the  Fordham  carriage  as  if  she  were  a  queen, 
and,  with  Miss  Sophia  and  Sybil,  stood  under 
the  white-pillared  portico  to  watch  the  car- 
riage pass  down  the  drive  and  out  of  the 
gate — his  first  guests  in  how  many  years, 
Sybil  wondered,  as  she  stood  a  little  back 
of  him,  in  the  shadow,  to  watch  the  whole 
of  the  little  scene.  When  the  carriage  was 
quite  out  of  sight,  the  old  gentleman  turned 
toward  the  stable,  and,  in  his  most  formidable 
roar,  sent  forth  the  call, 

"Japhetl  You  Ja-a-a-aphet !  O-o-oh, 
Japhetl" 

Sybil  tucked  her  hand  through  the  old 
gentleman's  arm,  and  looked  up  into  his  face, 
laughing.  "What  on  earth  are  you  roaring 
at  Japhet  for,  Uncle  ?"  she  asked. 

"You  wait  and  see,  you  wait  and  see!" 
the  Colonel  replied.  "He's  got  something 
down  at  the  stable  that  he  says  belongs  to 
you!" 

Her  eyes  opened  wide.  "To  me?  Did  I 
leave  anything  there?  Or  has  Mother-dear 
sent  still  another  box?" 

The  Colonel  was  beginning  to  look  mightily 
pleased  over  something.  "Hey?  What? 
131 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

What?"  he  asked,  as  if  to  gain  time;  and 
almost  at  the  moment  Japhet  came  around 
the  drive  from  the  back  of  the  house,  leading 
a  splendid  horse  of  brilliant  coat  and  arched 
neck,  bridled,  and  with  a  new  side-saddle  on 
his  back. 

"Why,  that's  Damascus!"  Sybil  exclaimed. 
"Why  is  he  saddled  now  ?"  Then  she  thought 
she  guessed  the  Colonel's  meaning,  and  swing- 
ing around  in  front  of  him  she  fairly  danced. 

"Oh,  you  darling  Uncle!  You're  going  to 
let  me  ride  Damascus!" 

The  old  gentleman's  eyebrows  were  work- 
ing at  a  great  rate,  and  he  was  doing  his  futile 
best  to  look  ferocious. 

"Hey?  What's  that?  What's  that?  I'm 
going  to  let  you  ride  Damascus,  am  I  ?    Hey  ?" 

"You  are!  You  know  you  are!"  Then 
she  laughed,  and  shook  her  finger  at  him. 
"Oh!  You're  still  trying  to  make  up!  As 
if  I  hadn't  forgotten  all  about  it  by  this 
time!" 

"Nothing  of  the  kind !  I  don't  know  what 
you  mean!  And  I  haven't  a  word  to  say 
about  your  riding  Damascus  1  He's  your  own 
horse!" 

For  a  long  moment  Sybil  looked  into  his 
132 


A   DAY   OF    SURPRISES 

face  in  utter  amazement;  but  as  she  looked, 
his  expression  changed  to  the  most  tender 
one  she  had  ever  seen  there. 

"I'm  giving  you  my  best,  little  girl !  I  hope 
he'll  carry  you  well  and  worthily!"  he  said, 
putting  his  hand  on  her  head. 

She  drew  a  deep,  quick  breath;  still  she 
could  scarcely  understand.  But  Damascus 
seemed  to  know ;  or,  at  any  rate,  he  knew  that 
the  young  lady  who  daily  gave  him  sugar 
and  carrots  and  crackers  was  before  him,  and 
he  softly  whinnied. 

Old  Japhet  grinned.  "De  new  saddle  done 
come  jest  in  time,  Cunnel,"  he  said. 

Then  Sybil  seemed  to  awake;  she  dragged 
the  Colonel  with  her  out  to  the  driveway,  and, 
laughing  and  exclaiming  all  the  while,  danced 
around  Damascus  and  Japhet,  the  beautiful 
horse  curvetting  toward  her  as  she  moved, 
evidently  thinking  this  some  delightful  new 
game. 

"Oh,  Uncle!  Is  he  mine?  Really  and 
truly  mine,  my  ownest  own,  to  belong  to  me 
the  way  Selim-  does  to  you?  Oh,  do  you 
think  he'll  ever  love  me  as  much?  And  I 
may  ride  him  all  I  want  to?  And  the  new 
side-saddle — is  that  mine,  too  ?  Oh !  You're 
133 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT    ■ 

such  a  darling,  such  a  dear,  such  a  perfectly 
wonderful  fairy  god- father  of  an  uncle !  And 
to  think  I  was  cross  and  horrid  to  you,  and 
all  the  while  you  were  getting  this  surprise 
ready  for  me !  Yes,  you  were,  you  must  have 
been,  because  you  had  ordered  the  saddle ! 
Oh,  I  never  was  so  happy  in  all  my  life, 
never,  never,  never!" 

She  had  her  arms,  by  this  time,  around 
Damascus's  neck,  and  he  was  rubbing  his 
velvety  nose  on  her  cheek  and  throat.  Old 
Japhet  was  grinning  with  delight.  Aunt 
Sair'  Ann  had  come  from  her  kitchen  to  see 
Missy  receive  her  present,  and  was  peeping 
around  the  corner  of  the  house,  her  hands 
rolled  up  in  her  apron.  Shem  and  Jinny  were 
grinning  from  the  hall  door,  and  even  Miss 
Sophia  seemed  to  have  forgotten  her  habitual 
fear  of  the  unusual,  and  was  smiling  at  Sybil's 
delight  and  the  beautiful  animal's  response. 
Only  the  Colonel  looked  thoughtful,  almost 
sad;  and  Sybil  remembered  afterwards  that 
she  heard  him  say  to  himself : 

"Wonderful!    Wonderful!" 

Shem  and  Sair'  Ann  must  have  heard  him 
say  that,  too,  for  they  exchanged  glances, 
134 


A   DAY   OF    SURPRISES 

shook  their  heads,  and  disappeared,  in  reality 
to  meet  in  the  kitchen  and  talk  it  over. 

Suddenly  Sybil  cried,  "Uncle!  May  I  ride 
him  now,  just  to  see  how  he  goes  ?" 

Miss  Sophia  exclaimed  in  horror,  "In  that 
dress?    Oh,  my  dear!" 

"I  can  change  in  a  minute!"  cried  Sybil, 
still  looking  at  the  Colonel  for  permission. 

He  smiled,  and  took  out  his  watch.  "You 
have  a  good  hour  before  supper,"  he  said. 
"Damascus  knows  you  now,  and  you  ride 
pretty  well." 

She  was  off  in  a  flash,  and  in  an  incredibly 
short  time  was  back  again,  hatless,  but  dressed 
in  a  shirtwaist  and  the  riding-skirt  she  and 
Miss  Sophia  had  made. 

The  Colonel  gallantly  helped  her  to  spring 
to  the  saddle,  and  after  a  first  jump  of  sur- 
prise Damascus  stood  still,  looking  around 
with  questioning  ears  at  the  friend  on  his 
back. 

"Take  it  easy  at  first,  and  don't  go  off  the 
place,"  the  Colonel  warned  her.  Then,  as  if 
suddenly  remembering  something,  he  ex- 
claimed : 

"Wait  a  moment !"  and  went  into  the  house. 

When  he  returned  he  was  carrying  a  small 
135 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

old-fashioned  riding- whip,  as  dainty  as  whip 
could  be,  of  satiny  braided  leather  that  had 
once  been  white  but  was  now  yellowed  with 
age.  Its  handle  was  of  ivory,  carved  in  the 
semblance  of  a  tiny  elephant. 

"You  may  find  this  useful,"  he  said,  hand- 
ing the  whip  to  Sybil,  "but  you  will  not  need 
it  to  urge  him  to  speed." 

Old  Japhet,  when  he  saw  the  little,  toy, 
exclaimed;  and  bending  toward  it,  as  Sybil 
was  inspecting  it,  he  cried: 

"Land!  Dat's  Miss  Sybilla's  lil  switch! 
Dat  was  all  Missy  needed  to  make  her  look 
like  the  spitten  image  of " 

But  the  Colonel,  frowning,  held  up  a  silenc- 
ing hand,  and  Japhet  bobbed  and  retired  be- 
hind Damascus. 

Sybil  had  read  a  name  that  was  also  her 
own  on  the  little  gold  band  that  ran  around 
the  base  of  the  ivory  handle.  "Oh,  Uncle! 
I — you  ought  not  to  give  me  this !"  she  cried. 

But  the  Colonel,  by  way  of  answer,  gave 
Damascus  a  smart  slap  on  the  shoulder;  and 
with  a  spring  the  magnificent  animal  was  oflF. 

Sybil,  recalling  good  old  Betty  in  the  back 
yard  at  home,  and  gentle,  lady-like  Mar- 
guerite, felt  as  if  she  were  riding  Pegasus 
136 


A   DAY   OF   SURPRISES 

himself,  flying  over  the  earth,  down  the  drive, 
around  the  curve  into  the  narrow  road  that  led 
to  the  upper  farm,  past  the  big  field  of  young 
corn,  with  a  fine  leap  over  the  shining  brooklet 
that  crossed  the  road  at  the  foot  of  the  hill. 
She  kept  her  seat  well,  for  the  Colonel's  daily 
lessons  had  taught  her  how  to  ride,  and  he 
had  often  declared  that  she  was  a  born  horse- 
woman. But  as  she  tried  once  or  twice  to 
bring  Damascus  down  to  a  gentle  gait,  it  grad- 
ually dawned  upon  her  that  he  had  taken 
things  into  his  own  control.  At  any  rate,  he 
was  entirely  beyond  hers! 

At  her  first  realization  that  he  was  run- 
ning away,  her  heart  gave  a  great  leap,  more 
of  excitement  than  of  fear;  then,  with  quick 
presence  of  mind,  she  told  herself  that  there 
was  not  much  harm  in  his  having  his  little 
canter,  for  there  were  roads  enough  crossing 
and  winding  through  the  large  estate  of 
Montebello  to  give  him  a  run  that  ought  to 
satisfy  him.  All  that  was  necessary  for  her, 
she  pluckily  assured  herself,  was  to  keep  him 
in  the  road  and  to  look  out  for  overhanging 
branches.  He  would  tire  himself  out,  eventu- 
ally, and  neither  of  them  would  be  the  worse 
for  the  experience. 

137 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

But  after  a  while  she  realized  that  she  was 
flying  along  a  road  that  she  had  not  seen 
before,  through  woods  choked  with  under- 
growth, perhaps  outside  of  the  boundary  of 
Montebello,  perhaps  to  open  country  where 
she  might  become  lost,  perhaps  far  from  any- 
one of  whom  she  might  ask  the  way  back! 
She  had  ridden  daily  for  weeks ;  but,  after 
all,  she  really  knew  nothing  of  this  Maryland 
country. 

She  talked  to  Damascus,  pleaded  with  him, 
but  not  a  twitch  of  the  ears  would  he  vouch- 
safe in  reply.  On,  on  he  tore,  it  seemed  to 
her  faster  and  faster.  She  had  to  bend  low 
over  her  saddle  to  escape  the  flying  branches, 
and  once  or  twice  they  whipped  at  her  face, 
stinging  cruelly.  Then  she  felt  her  hair 
tumble  down  her  back. 

At  last,  when  her  breath  was  beginning  to 
come  in  little  sobs,  Damascus  swerved  sharply 
to  the  right,  pounded  up  a  narrow,  grass- 
grown  pathway  that  had  once  been  a  road, 
cleared  a  barred  gate,  and  came  sedately  to 
a  walk !    He  had  finished  his  little  run ! 


X 

THE   HERMIT 

SHAKEN  by  the  great  leaps  of  the  horse 
and  his  final  jump  over  the  gate,  her 
hair  tumbling  about  her,  breathless  and 
frightened,  Sybil  sat  limply  in  the  saddle  for 
a  moment  or  two,  not  caring  where  he  had 
brought  her,  satisfied  only  that  his  wild  ride 
had  come  safely  to  an  end  at  last.  Damascus, 
too,  stood  as  quiet  now  as  any  tired  old  nag, 
with  lowered  head  and  heaving  sides.  But  as 
her  breath  came  back,  and  she  could  raise  her 
head  and  look  about  her,  Sybil  gasped  in 
amazement.  There  before  her,  only  a  few 
hundred  yards  away,  stretched  the  waters  of 
the  Chesapeake.  Even  now  the  Emma  Niles 
was  pufiing  past,  and  sails  of  fishing-boats 
gleamed  golden  in  the  slanting  rays  of  the 
descending  sun.  A  line  of  pine  woods,  with 
undergrowth  of  scrub  oak,  grew  almost  to 
the  water's  edge;  there  was  only  a  narrow 
139 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

space  cleared  through  them,  evidently  to  give 
a  vista  of  the  Bay.  In  this  pathway  the 
grass  grew  uncut,  and  as  it  drew  back  from 
the  water  the  cleared  space  widened  into  a 
door-yard — for  it  could  scarcely  be  called  a 
garden,  so  wild  and  overgrown  it  was.  There 
was  a  tangle  of  old-fashioned  roses  here,  an- 
other of  blackberry  bushes  there,  a  grape-vine 
over  a  tumbled-down  arbor,  a  mossgrown 
spring-house — and  in  the  midst  of  all  a  low, 
shabby  little  house  whose  weather-worn  paint 
had  once  been  brown.  Sybil  gazed  at  it  in 
wonder,  and  could  scarcely  suppress  a  cry. 
Damascus  had  brought  her  to  the  Hermit's ! 

And  Damascus  behaved  quite  as  if  he  had 
intended  all  along  to  bring  her  there!  Al- 
though he  was  still  breathing  heavily,  he 
stepped  up  to  the  front  of  the  house,  where 
there  was  an  old  mounting-stand  of  three 
wooden  steps  and  a  small  platform.  There  he 
stood  still,  turned  his  head  to  look  around  at 
Sybil,  and  whinnied  softly  and  persuasively. 

But  Sybil  was  too  surprised  to  dismount. 
She  looked  up  at  the  house ;  its  windows  were 
closed,  except  in  an  upper  room  and  one 
below;  there  were  no  curtains  anywhere,  and 
the  panes  were  dusty  and  covered  with  cob- 
140 


THE   HERMIT 

webs.  There  was  a  piazza,  but  it  was  evident 
that  no  one  ever  sat  upon  it;  there  was  not 
a  chair  in  sight,  and  the  leaves  of  the  past 
autumn  still  lay  in  wind-blown  heaps  in  the 
corners.  There  was  no  open  door,  as  at 
Montebello ;  in  fact,  there  was  no  sign  of  life 
about  the  place,  except  a  thin  wisp  of  bluish 
smoke  that  wavered  upward  from  a  back 
chimney. 

"Mercy!"  Sybil  said  to  herself,  "this  cer- 
tainly does  look  like  the  habitation  of  a  her- 
mit! I  wonder  what  you  do  when  you  call 
on  hermits?  Are  they  cross,  or  do  they  po- 
litely show  you  the  way  home  in  joy  at  getting 
rid  of  you?"  And  as  no  sign  of  a  living 
presence  made  itself  known,  she  added,  "And 
how  do  you  call  them,  I  wonder?  Do  you 
say  'Mr.  Hermit,'  as  you  say  'Mr.  President,' 
or  do  you  just — cough?" 

She  laughed  nervously,  and,  as  an  experi- 
ment, gave  a  little  cough;  nothing  happened, 
so  she  coughed  again.  The  silence  was  some- 
how rather  uncanny,  and  certainly  uncom- 
fortable. 

"I  wish  I  could  roar,  like  Uncle !"  she  said, 
laughing  again,  but  looking  nervously  around 
141 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

her.  "Oh,  dear !  I've  got  to  make  him  come 
out!     I  can't,  I  can't  stay  lost!" 

She  turned  Damascus,  and  urged  him  up 
close  to  the  side  of  the  house;  with  her  little 
riding  whip  she  managed  to  reach  one  of  the 
windows  and  tap  upon  the  dingy  glass  imtil 
she  was  afraid  of  breaking  it;  but  still  there 
was  no  sign  of  life  from  within.  Then  she 
rode  around  to  the  back  .of  the  house,  over 
the  weed-grown  path.  As  she  passed  the 
open  windows  it  seemed  to  her  that  something 
or  someone  stirred  within ;  but  she  could  not 
bring  herself  to  stop  and  look  mto  an  open 
window  of  a  stranger's  house,  although  she 
could  easily  have  surveyed  the  whole  room 
from  the  height  of  Damascus's  back. 

The  kitchen  door  stood  open ;  and,  while 
she  was  wondering  whether  to  call  or  not,  an 
old  gray-haired  negro  came  from  the  wood- 
shed at  the  back  of  the  yard,  his  arms  full  of 
wood. 

He  stopped  abruptly  at  sight  of  the  girl 
on  horseback,  who  must  indeed  have  looked 
strange  enough  with  her  home-made,  unfash- 
ionably  full  riding-skirt,  her  white  waist,  the 
tumbled  mass  of  brown  curls,  and  the  little 
hand  holding  the  goldmounted  riding-whip 
142 


THE    HERMIT 

of  a  by-gone  generation.  For  a  moment  the 
old  man  stood  looking  up  at  her,  as  at  a  vision ; 
then,  to  Sybil's  horror,  with  a  sound  between 
a  moan  and  a  shriek,  he  dropped  his  wood, 
sank  to  his  knees,  raised  his  clasped  hands  in 
supplication,  and  bowed  his  head  to  the 
ground. 

"Oh,  glory!  Oh,  glory!  Oh,  please,  Miss 
ha'nt,  go  *way  from  yer!  Glory,  glory!  I 
is  a  sinner,  an'  I  knows  I  is !  But,  oh,  my 
soul!  I  ain't  done  nothin'  deservin'  a  vis'ta- 
tion!  I  ain't  done  nothin'  bad  enough  to 
make  de  daid  rise  from  de  grave!  I  ain't 
done  nothin*, to  bring  on  de  day  o'  jedgmint! 
Glory!     Glory!" 

Damascus  snorted  and  jumped,  and  Sybil, 
startled  at  the  amazing  demonstration,  almost 
lost  her  balance ;  then  another  man,  evidently 
aroused  by  the  strange  clamor,  looked  out  of 
one  of  the  open  windows,  came  hurriedly 
through  the  house,  and  ran  out  of  the  kitchen. 

Sybil  remembered  afterwards  that  his  tall 
figure  was  stooped,  as  if  he  had  bent  over 
a  desk  or  table  for  too  many  hours  of  his  life. 
His  white  hair  was  worn  rather  long,  and 
a  white  beard  partially  concealed  his  face. 
But  there  was  a  curious  familiarity  about  his 
143 


.    THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

eyes,  and  the  memory  of  them  haunted  her 
for  long,  like  a  half-remembered  face,  or  one 
she  had  seen  a  long  while  before. 

At  the  moment  of  his  appearance,  however, 
she  had  no  time  for  speculation;  he  had 
started  toward  the  groveling  figure  of  the 
negro,  but  the  splendid  horse  and  his  rider 
made  a  picture  more  compelling.  Sybil 
opened  her  lips  to  speak,  but  once  more  the 
strange,  disquieting  thing  happened.  As  he 
looked,  the  Hermit's  face  went  pale;  then  he 
tottered,  fell  back  against  the  side  of  the  door, 
threw  his  hands  out  before  him,  and  gasped 
her  name: 

"Sybilla !" 

The  old  negro  rocked  and  moaned.  "Yas, 
sir!  Yas,  sir,  Marse  John!  Hit's  Miss  Sy- 
billa!  De  daid  done  rose  again,  an'  de  jedg- 
mint  •  day's  at  hand !  I  w  a  sinner,  yes,  I  is, 
but  oh!  my  soul!  I  don't  deserve  dis  vis'ta- 
tion!" 

So  she  was  being  mistaken  for  a  ghost! 
That  was  it!  Sybil  felt  herself  tried  beyond 
endurance.  The  wild  ride  on  Damascus  had 
been  enough ;  but  to  believe  herself  lost,  then 
to  find  that  she  was  at  the  Hermit's  house — 
those  two  facts  would  have  been  enough  ex- 
144 


THE   HERMIT 

citement  for  any  day !  Yet  now  she  was  being 
taken  for  a  ghost,  or,  worse,  a  visitation !  A 
visitation,  indeed — when  she  had  the  very 
best  intentions  in  the  world  toward  the  Her- 
mit and  everybody  else — even  if  she  did  have 
to  confess  to  a  little  curiosity !  Why  on  earth 
should  they  take  her  for  an  apparition,  and 
above  all,  why,  why  did  everyone  gasp  out 
her  name  in  that  very  unpleasant  wa:y  at  first 
sight  of  her? 

She  felt  her  cheeks  beginning  to  burn.  "Of 
course  it's  Sybilla!"  she  said,  sharply,  with 
flashing  eyes.  "Why  on  earth  shouldn't  it  be 
Sybilla?  My  name  is  Sybil  Crawford,  but 
I  don't  see  what  there  is  in  that  to  alarm 
anybody !" 

Slowly  the  old  man  in  the  doorway  was 
recovering  his  senses ;  he  brushed  his  hand 
across  his  eyes,  and  his  face  became  less  pale. 
Slowly,  too,  the  old  negro  looked  up  into 
Sybil's  face  and  arose.  Slowly  he  came  to- 
ward Damascus,  step  by  step,  hesitating,  evi- 
dently ready  to  run  at  the  first  sign  of  danger. 
He  held  his  hands  out  before  him,  like  a  per- 
son groping  his  way  through  the  dark.  He 
touched  the  horse's  neck,  then  Sybil's  skirt, 
then  the  tip  of  her  shoe.     Then  he  clapped 

145 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

his  hands  together,  and  raised  his  voice  in  a 
curious  singsong  of  exultation  and  relief. 

"Glory!  Glory  halleluya!  Marse  John! 
Marse  John  I  Dis  yer  ain't  no  ha'nt !  Ner  it 
ain't  no  vis'tation !    Dis  yer's  alive!" 

Sybil  could  not  stand  any  more  of  it,  and 
flicked  Damascus  with  the  whip.  She  was 
glad  when  the  trying  old  darkey  had  to  jump 
back  out  of  the  way.  The  situation  had 
been  really  too  grotesque!  To  have  them 
take  her  for  a  ghost!  She  would  just  show 
them  how  alive  she  was! 

She  assumed  her  most  grown-up  and  im- 
pressive manner,  and  bowed  to  the  old  gen- 
tleman, who  still  had  not  spoken. 

"I  am  sorry  to  have  trespassed.  I  am  sorry 
to  have  been  the  cause  of  such  great  alarm !" 
she  said,  in  her  sternest  tone  and  with  all 
the  dignity  she  could  command,  conscious  as 
she  was,  all  the  time,  of  her  dishevelled  ap- 
pearance and  the  actual  absurdity  of  the  scene 
just  past.  "If  you  will  have  your  man  set  me 
on  the  road  to  Montebello,  I  shall  be  greatly 
obliged,  and  will  not  trouble  you  further." 
Then  she  added  what  she  considered  an  in- 
spired masterpiece,  "And  my  uncle  shall  send 
you  our  apologies  to-morrow!" 
146 


THE   HERMIT 

She  thought  the  speech  sounded  tremen- 
dously well.  At  any  rate,  she  had  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  that  it  made  its  impression 
on  the  Hermit,  for  as  she  spoke  the  color 
returned  to  his  face  and  he  stepped  forward, 
bowing  courteously,  with  a  charming,  old- 
fashioned  grace,  as  he  came. 

"It  is  I  who  must  apologize,"  he  said.  "We 
two  old  men  who  live  alone  are  unaccustomed 
to  calls  from  charming  young  ladies ;  the  sur- 
prise was  too  much  for  us !  May  we  not  make 
amends  by  offering  you  some  hospitality?" 

There  was  something  peculiarly  winning 
about  his  smile,  and  Sybil  trusted  him  at  once, 
partly  because,  as  she  afterwards  wrote  Don- 
ald, his  eyes  had  such  a  gentle,  withdrawn 
look,  as  if  he  had  stepped  aside  from  the 
world  and  were  watching  it  go  by,  unenvious, 
unafraid,  and  patiently  waiting. 

She  could  not  help  responding  to  his  smile. 
"Thank  you,"  she  said.  "I  shall  be  very 
much  obliged  if  you  will  set  me  on  my  way 
home.  Damascus  ran  away  with  me,  and 
neither  of  us  know  where  we  are!" 

"You  can  be  home  in  ten  minutes,  if  you 
like,"  the  Hermit  assured  her.  "Daniel  here 
will  guide  you,  if  you  prefer ;  but  I  should  like 
147 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

to  do  it  myself.  But  pray  let  me  offer  some 
refreshment,  first." 

Daniel  had  anticipated  his  master's  wish, 
and  was  already  bringing  a  tray  with  a  glass 
of  milk  and  one  of  water. 

Sybil  chose  the  milk.  "It  is  delicious,"  she 
said.  "But,  really  and  truly,  I  must  get  back. 
My  uncle  will  be  anxious,  I'm  afraid." 

The  Hermit  waved  toward  the  grass-grown 
road.  "This  way,  then,  please!  I  will  walk 
beside  you.  You — I  think  you  said — your — 
uncle — would  be  anxious?" 

She  nodded.  "Colonel  Crockett,  you  know ! 
I  am  visiting  at  Montebello." 

"Your— uncle?" 

Sybil  wondered  why  he  should  seem  so  sur- 
prised at  the  relationship,  "He  is  not  really 
my  uncle,  of  course,"  she  explained.  "My 
father.  Doctor  Robert  Crawford,  is  his 
cousin." 

The  Hermit's  eyes  had  a  curious  look,  as 
if  he  were  trying  to  make  out  something 
that  was  very  far  away.  "And — your  name, 
then,  is — Sybilla  Crawford !    Sybilla !" 

They  talked  on,  and  Sybil  liked  the  Hermit 
more  and  more.  He  seemed  very  glad  to  talk 
148 


THE    HERMIT 

with  her,  as  simply  and  unaffectedly  glad  as 
a  child  might  have  been. 

There  are  some  people  with  whom  one 
might  talk  forever  without  becoming  friends, 
and  without  coming  to  know  them  any  better 
than  at  first;  but  the  Hermit  was  certainly 
not  one  of  these.  By  the  time  he  had  led 
Damascus  to  an  opening  through  the  woods 
which  would  take  her  directly  back  to  Monte- 
bello,  Sybil  felt  that  they  had  become  such 
good  friends  that  she  ventured  to  say,  smil- 
ing down  at  him : 

"I  have  been  told  that  people  around  here 
call  you  'the  Hermit' !  But  I'm  sure  we  shall 
be  friends,  if  you  will  let  me,  and  I  couldn't 
call  a  friend  of  mine  that!" 

The  old  man  smiled  up  at  her.  "Ah !  They 
call  me  a  hermit,  do  they  ?  Ah,  well !  I  sup- 
pose no  man  can  hope  to  remain  nameless; 
and  indeed,  if  a  hermit  is  one  who  meditates 
in  lonely  places,  the  name  fits  me  well 
enough !"  He  sighed,  but  seeming  to  remem- 
ber her  hint,  added,  "The  only  other  friend  I 
have,  my  good  old  Daniel,  calls  me  'Mr. 
John.'  Perhaps  you,  also,  will  call  me  by 
that  name." 

She  was  longing  to  know  more  than  his 
149 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

first  name,  but  of  course  it  was  impossible  to 
ask. 

"Thank  you,  Mr.  John,"  she  said,  smiling 
and  holding  out  her  hand.  "I  am  sorry  I 
startled  you  and  Daniel,  and  I  hope  you  will 
let  me  visit  you  again." 

The  Hermit  looked,  for  a  moment,  as  if 
he  were  going  to  refuse.  Then  he  squared 
his  shoulders  a  little,  and  said,  "My  dear 
young  lady,  you  are  very  good!  I  shall  be 
honored  by  your  friendship!" 

Then  he  bade  her  good-bye.  As  she  guided 
Damascus  toward  home,  her  mind  was  busy 
with  wonder  and  speculation.  She  knew  she 
could  not  have  seen  the  Hermit  before;  why 
was  it  that  she  could  not  shake  off  the  im- 
pression of  having  known  him?  And  why 
did  so  kindly  and  gentle  an  old  man  live  there 
alone,  apparently  even  more  cut  off  from  the 
neighborhood  than  was  the  household  of 
Montebello?  Surely  it  was  not  of  his  own 
choosing — he  was  not  the  sort  to  want  to 
avoid  his  kind!  And  even  more  surely  it 
could  not  be  because  of  any  crime  or  wrong 
he  had  committed !  Even  to  think  of  such  a 
thing  in  connection  with  him  was  ridiculous, 
when  she  recalled  his  kindly  eyes  and  gentle 
150 


THE    HERMIT 

manner.  What  old  story  was  hidden  with 
him,  in  the  little,  neglected  house  scarcely  two 
miles  from  Montebello? 

Thinking  of  these  things  again,  when  she 
was  alone  in  her  room  that  night,  she  wrote 
to  Donald : 

He  has  the  best  and  kindest  face  I  ever  saw  in 
my  life,  except  Dad's.  It  is  so  kind  and  sweet  that 
it  just  seems  to  glow  upon  you  and  make  you 
warm  and  comfortable  and  happy  all  through. 
But  somehow,  Don,  it  seems  as  if  that  beautiful 
kindness  must  have  come  because  he  has  suffered 
very  much  indeed. 

Miss  Sophia  came  In,  while  she  was  writ- 
ing, to  bid  her  good-night,  and  assure  herself 
that  there  were  to  be  no  ill  effects  from  the 
runaway.  Sybil  looked  up  at  her  over  her 
letter. 

"Cousin  Sophia,"  she  asked,  "who  is  Mr. 
John?" 

The  little  lady  was  carrying  a  brass  candle- 
stick in  one  hand  and  a  glass  of  water  in 
the  other.  At  Sybil's  question  she  jumped  so 
that  the  water  splashed  to  the  floor,  and  the 
flame  of  the  candle  waved  dangerously.  Her 
151 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

face  suddenly  grew  white,  and  her  eyes  looked 
as  the  Hermit's  had  that  afternoon  before 
Sybil  spoke.  Then,  without  a  word  of  reply, 
she  turned  and  trotted  out  of  the  room! 


XI 

THE    COLONEL    MAKES    A    CALL 

WELL,  young  lady,"  said  the  Colonel 
to  Sybil,  when  she  came  into  the  din- 
ing-room one  morning  a  week  or  so  later, 
"what  part  of  the  country  do  you  mean  to 
explore  on  that  wild  beast  of  yours  this 
morning?  I  suppose  there'll  be  no  keeping 
you  inside  the  gates  of  Montebello  now  that 
you  have  gotten  used  to  Damascus !" 

Until  now,  he  had  firmly  forbidden  her 
going  off  the  place,  and  Sybil  had  been 
secretly  longing  to  see  what  there  was  in  the 
country  round  about.  She  had  never  dared 
to  tell  him  all  the  details  of  her  first  wild 
ride. 

"Oh,  do  you  really  mean  that  you'll  let  me  ?" 
she  cried,  her  eyes  dancing  with  excitement. 

"Humph !"  said  the  Colonel.  "Let  you,  in- 
deed !  Don't  suppose  there'll  be  any  holding 
you !" 

153 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

She  pretended  to  look  very  much  hurt.  "I 
am  very,  very  sorry,  Uncle,"  she  said,  looking 
down  at  her  plate  to  hide  the  twinkle  in  her 
eyes,  "that  you  have  found  me  such  a  dis- 
obedient— er — chit — I  think  is  your  word! 
You  must  be  finding  your  experiment  a  good 
deal  of  a  failure!" 

Miss  Sophia  never  by  any  chance  saw  a 
joke,  and  the  jocular  passages  between  her 
brother  and  their  guest  still  troubled  her  as 
greatly  as  they  had  on  the  first  day.  "Oh, 
Brother !  Pray,  Brother !  Oh,  my  dear  Sybil 
— oh,  my  dear!"  she  now  cried,  looking  from 
one  to  the  other  in  great  distress. 

"Sophia,"  said  the  Colonel,  leaning  toward 
her,  his  hands  grasping  the  edge  of  the  dining- 
table,  "Sophia,  have  we  found  my  experiment 
a  failure?    Have  we?    Hey?" 

"Oh,  Brother!  Why,  Brother,  how  can 
you  ?"    Miss  Sophia  protested,  almost  in  tears. 

Sybil  had  to  jump  up  and  run  around  the 
table,  to  kiss  her  into  reassurance  again,  while 
the  Colonel  chuckled. 

"Oh,  well,"  he  said,  "the  experiment's  not 
at  an  end  yet,  so  we'll  hope  for  the  best. 
Meanwhile,  you  ladies  will  be  prepared  to  go 
calling  with  me  this  afternoon." 
154 


THE   COLONEL   MAKES   A   CALL 

If  he  had  exploded  a  bomb  in  the  midst  of 
the  breakfast  dishes,  he  could  not  have  caused 
greater  consternation.  Jinny  was  just  bring- 
ing in  a  plate  of  hot  waffles;  she  stopped  so 
suddenly  that  Shem,  following  with  the  coffee- 
pot, bumped  into  her  with  disastrous  results 
to  Aunt  Sair'  Ann's  golden-brown  honey- 
combed beauties.  Jinny  fled,  but  old  Shem 
stood  as  if  rooted  to  the  spot,  staring  at  his 
master.  Sybil  stood  up  and  looked  at  the 
Colonel  over  Miss  Sophia's  head,  and  the 
little  lady  grew  quite  pale. 

The  old  gentleman  calmly  poured  some 
cream  over  his  strawberries,  and  pretended  to 
be  entirely  unaware  of  the  commotion  he  had 
caused.  But  as  no  one  spoke,  he  was  obliged 
at  last  to  look  up,  and  ask,  with  raised  eye- 
brows : 

"Well?" 

"You  are  not  by  any  chance  dreaming,  are 
you.  Uncle?"  Sybil  asked;  she  knew  that  he 
dearly  loved  her  little  flippancies. 

"Not  with  these  white  strawberries  in  front 
of  me,"  he  said.  "Better  sit  down  and  have 
some,  my  dear." 

Sybil  went  back  to  her  place  and  took  the 
little  silver  cream  pitcher  he  passed  her. 
155 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"Well,  if  strawberries  and  cream  are  good 
eye-openers,  I'll  have  some,  too,"  she  said. 
"I  think  it  must  have  been  I  who  was  dream- 
ing, Uncle,  because  I  really  thought  I  heard 
you  say  something  about  going  calling  this 
afternoon." 

"That's  just  what  I  said.  Miss,"  the  Colonel 
declared,  with  a  chuckle.  He  was  fully  aware 
of  Shem's  rolling  eyes,  and  of  Jinny's  pre- 
cipitous flight;  he  was  having  a  very  good 
time. 

"Brother !"  Miss  Sophia  cried,  in  a  voice  of 
alarm  and  pleading. 

"Now  what's  the  matter  with  you,  Sophia  ?" 
the  Colonel  demanded.  "Can't  you  behave 
like  a  sensible  woman?  What  is  there  re- 
markable in  our  all  going  out  to  make  some 
calls?  Can  you  tell  me  you  don't  owe  any? 
Can  you  tell  me  that?    Hey?" 

Miss     Sophia    sank    back    in    her    chair. 

"Brother!     It's  been  forty "  she  began; 

but  the  Colonel  cut  short  her  protest. 

He  brought  his  fist  down  on  the  table  with 
a  bang.  "Then  it's  all  the  more  reason  why 
we  make  them  to-day !"  he  roared. 

And  make  them  they  did!  The  carriage 
was  ordered  for  half  past  two,  and  promptly 
156 


THE    COLONEL   MAKES   A   CALL 

on  the  minute  the  Colonel,  with  Miss  Sophia 
and  Sybil,  drove  off  in  state,  first  of  all  to 
return  the  Rutherfords'  visit. 

As  they  turned  into  the  Fordham  gate,  the 
Colonel  seemed  deeply  moved,  and  kept  his 
face  toward  the  window,  pretending  that  the 
white  silk  handkerchief  which  had  replaced 
his  usual  bandantia  was  being  used  only  to 
"shoo  off"  the  gnats.  Sybil  knew  he  was 
thinking  of  another  Sybilla,  to  whom  this 
place  must  have  been  so  familiar  and  so 
dearly  loved.  Once  more  her  mind  was  busy, 
wondering  what  could  have  kept  him  and  his 
sister  so  long  separated  from  their  neighbors ; 
and  Miss  Sophia's  thoughts  were  evidently 
somewhat  the  same,  but  for  once  the  little 
lady's  excitement  was  stronger  than  her 
timidity. 

"O  dear,  O  dear,"  she  cried,  "how  this  does 
bring  back  old  times!" 

The  Colonel  jumped.  "Nothing  of  the 
kind!"  he  growled.  "Nothing  of  the  kind! 
Nothing  here  to  remind  anyone  of  anything! 
Do  try  to  behave  like  a  sensible  woman, 
Sophia!" 

Miss  Sophia  clasped  her  mittened  hands  in 
157 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

her  lap,  and  murmured,  "O  dear,  O  dear! 
Oh,  Brother!" 

But  Sybil  laughed.  "Don't  get  excited. 
Uncle  beautiful  and  dear,"  she  said.  "There ! 
Now  you've  twisted  your  necktie  out  of 
place !" 

The  old  gentleman  set  his  lips  tightly  to- 
gether to  restrain  a  smile  while  he  bent  for- 
ward to  be  put  in  order;  and  Sybil  had  not 
finished  retying  the  bow  to  her  satisfaction 
when  the  carriage  stopped  before  the  Ford- 
ham  steps,  and  Mr.  Rutherford  was  opening 
the  door. 

He  sent  forth  a  hearty  laugh  when  he  be- 
held the  little  domestic  scene  within. 

"Oh  ho!  So  you've  tamed  the  lion,  have 
you,  Miss  Sybil?  Ah,  William,  these  young 
folks  know  how  to  keep  us  in  order!" 

The  Colonel  was  red  with  embarrassment, 
and  flapped  at  Sybil's  hand  with  his  handker- 
chief. "Nothing  of  the  kind !  Nothing  of  the 
kind !"  he  exclaimed.  "Stop  that,  you  minx  I 
Get  away!" 

At  which  Mr.  Rutherford  laughed  all  the 
more,  while  Sybil  and  Miss  Sophia  were  led 
off  by  Molly  to  meet  her  mother. 

The  two  old  men  must  have  found  a  great 
158 


THE    COLONEL   MAKES   A   CALL 

deal  to  say,  for  when  Molly  and  Sybil  came 
back  they  were  sitting  close  together  on  a 
bench  in  the  sun,  so  absorbed  in  each  other 
as  to  be  unaware  of  the  girls'  approach;  so 
Molly  drew  Sybil  down  to  the  piazza  steps. 

"We  won't  disturb  them,"  she  said.  "Just 
think  how  many  years  it  has  been  since  they 
have  had  a  real  good  talk!" 

Sybil's  face  was  very  thoughtful.  "I  don't 
know  how  he  has  endured  his  loneliness,"  she 
said.  "Why,  Molly,  he's  the  friendliest  soul 
alive,  and  as  companionable  as  if  he  were  a 
girl  of  our  age!  We've  become  regular 
chums !" 

Molly  smiled.  "In  spite  of  his  temper?"  she 
laughed.  "They  say  that  is  something  fright- 
ful." 

Sybil  joined  in  the  laugh.  "It  is  rather 
peppery,"  she  admitted.  "But  when  he  be- 
haves very  badly,  I  just  treat  him  as  if  he 
were  one  of  my  younger  brothers.  It  works 
beautifully !" 

"Oh,  Sybil!     How  do  you  ever  dare?" 

"Oh,  he  loves  it!  But— Molly,  I  have 
something  to  tell  you !" 

Molly  jumped.    "You've  seen  the  Hermit !" 

"Yes,  I  have."  She  recounted  her  adven- 
159 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

ture  on  Damascus,  ending  with,  "Now  what 
do  you  suppose  is  the  meaning  of  it  all, 
Molly?" 

Molly  shook  her  head.  "I  don't  know,"  she 
said.  "I  asked  Grandfather,  once,  who  the 
Hermit  was,  and  what  do  you  suppose  he 
answered  ?" 

"I  can't  imagine!" 

"No,  you  certainly  couldn't!  He  said — he 
said,  'Ah,  little  Moll,  the  War  is  over,  but  its 
battles  are  not  all  won  or  lost!'" 

Sybil's  eyes  showed  that  she  did  not  under- 
stand. "What  on  earth  did  he  mean  by  that? 
What  war  is  over?  Why,  every  war  is 
over  1" 

Molly  shook  her  head,  with  a  queer,  sad 
little  smile.  "There  is  only  one  war  that 
anyone  in  the  South  ever  calls  'the  War.'  " 

"The  Civil  War?" 

Molly  bent  her  head. 

"But — but  that  was — ^mercy! — that  was 
about  fifty  years  ago!" 

"Fifty  years,  or  yesterday,  it's  all  the  same 
with  our  people." 

"Then  you  think  your  grandfather  meant 
to  say  that  this  mystery  dates  from  the  War  ?" 
i6o 


THE    COLONEL   MAKES   A   CALL 

"Yes.  I  am  quite  sure  that  is  what  he 
meant." 

The  girls  were  silent  for  a  while,  each  busy 
with  her  own  thoughts.    Then  Molly  said: 

"I  have  never  seen  your  friend  the  Hermit, 
myself,  and  I  do  not  know  anyone  but  you 
who  has.  But  of  course  all  the  boys  and  girls 
in  this  part  of  the  country  have  wondered 
about  him,  and  asked  about  him,  and  tried 
to  unravel  the  mystery  about  him,  ever  since 
they  could  walk  and  talk!  Yet  all  that  our 
united  curiosity  has  been  able  to  discover  is 
that  an  old  man  whose  name  is  never  spoken 
lives  alone  in  that  little  house." 

"And  that,  as  far  as  having  friends  is 
concerned,  Colonel  Crockett  and  Miss  Sophia 
live  alone  in  theirs !" 

Molly  looked  at  her  with  wide-opened 
eyes  of  amazement.  "Gracious !  You  don't 
suppose  there  is  anything  more  than  a  coinci- 
dence there,  do  you  ?" 

"I  am  not  so  sure,"  Sybil  said,  thought- 
fully. 

"Oh,  but — but  I've  always  believed  that  the 
Colonel  had  just  quarreled — or  something — 
with  everybody — and " 

"Well,  I'm  going  to  cultivate  Mr.  John's 
i6i 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

acquaintance,  anyway,  and  we'll  see  what 
comes  of  it!" 

Molly  laughed.  "And  I  am  going  to  culti- 
vate the  Colonel's,  you  darling,  so  that  I  can 
see  a  lot  of  you!" 

"I  hope  you  will,"  said  Sybil,  "for  I  really 
believe  you've  already  begun  to  reform  him. 
He  is  going  calling  this  afternoon!" 

Molly's  eyes  were  wide,  indeed,  at  that. 
"What?  Not  calling  at  other  places  than 
this?" 

"Yes,  really !  Cousin  Sophia  almost  fainted 
when  he  ordered  us  to  get  ready!" 

"I  don't  wonder!  Why,  he  has  not  been 
in  any  house  but  his  own,  nor  admitted  any- 
one to  Montebello,  in  the  memory  of  man!" 

Sybil  laughed.  "Your  coming  has  broken 
the  ice!  I  shouldn't  be  surprised  if  the  dear 
old  darling  turns  out  to  be  a  regular  beau  in 
his  old  age !" 

The  girls  laughed  at  the  prospect,  and  they 
had  occasion  to  laugh  again,  later  on,  when 
the  party  from  Montebello  had  taken  their 
places  in  the  carriage,  and  the  Colonel  gave 
the  order  to  Japhet  to  drive  to  "Mon  Plaisir," 
for  Major  Rutherford's  face,  as  he  heard  the 
words,  was  a  veritable  study  in  amazement. 
162 


THE   COLONEL   MAKES   A   CALL 

Yet  the  surprise  of  the  Rutherfords  was 
as  nothing  compared  to  that  of  the  other  peg- 
pie  on  whom  the  Colonel  made  calls  that 
afternoon.  It  was  a  difficult  proceeding  for 
the  old  gentleman,  and  as  they  went  from 
place  to  place  Sybil  really  felt  sorry  for  him. 
At  every  house  it  was  more  or  less  the  same. 
First  the  servants,  or  the  members  of  the 
family  who  happened  to  be  sitting  on  the 
verandas,  had  to  be  faced,  and  made  to  un- 
derstand that  it  was  really  Colonel  Crockett 
who  had  come.  Then,  where  there  were  peo- 
ple of  his  own  generation  and  Miss  Sophia's, 
there  was  the  same  little  scene,  with  varia- 
tions, of  course,  but  always  pathetic. 

One  of  these  Sybil  never  forgot.  It  was 
at  Major  Nicholson's  house,  and  an  amazed 
negro  had  hastily  withdrawn  to  announce 
them.  Miss  Sophia  and  Sybil  were  seated ; 
but  the  Colonel  awaited  his  hosts  as  a  sol- 
dier should.  Miss  Nicholson  came  in  first; 
then  the  old  gentleman.  One  sleeve  of  his 
coat  was  pinned  back,  empty  from  the  elbow. 

He  came  easily  forward  with  a  smile  and 

a  near-sighted  stare,  until  close  enough  to 

make  out  the  identity  of  his  guests.    Then  the 

two  old  men  stood  facing  each  other,  breath- 

163 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

ing  heavily.     At  last  the  host  held  out  his 
hand. 

"William!"  he  said;  and  his  voice  was 
shaking. 

The  Colonel  grasped  the  outstretched  hand 
and  said,  in  a  voice  that  also  trembled,  "Dick ! 
Dick!  I've  been  very  wrong " 

"No,"  the  other  cried,  "not  wrong,  old 
friend !    We  all  make  mistakes " 

"You  can't  find  an  excuse  for  mine !  My 
pride  made  a  coward  of  me!" 

Major  Nicholson  held  out  the  arm  which 
ended  in  the  folded  sleeve.  "Bill!"  he  cried, 
"d'ye  see  that?  D'ye  think  I'll  let  you  call 
yourself  a  coward,  old  friend,  when  our  Rob- 
ert himself  wrote  of  your  conspicuous  bravery 
in  his  despatches,  the  day  you  carried  me 
back  of  the  lines  through  the  cross — the  day 
I  lost  this  ?  No !  There  never  was  a  coward 
in  the  Crockett  family!" 

The  Colonel  fell  back,  and  his  face  grew 
darkly  red.  But  Major  Nicholson  laid  his 
hand  on  the  Colonel's  shoulder  and  said : 

"Forgive  me,  William,  if  I  hurt!  But  I 
mean  it!  On  my  honor,  as  a  gentleman,  I 
mean  every  word  of  it!  And  I  had  to 
say  it!" 

164 


THE    COLONEL   MAKES   A   CALL 

Once  more  the  two  shook  hands.  "All 
right,  Dick;  all  right!  Let  there  be  an  end 
of  it!" 

"If  there  must  be,"  the  Major  said,  with 
a  sad  little  shake  of  the  head.  "I'm  afraid 
I'd  pay  a  higher  price  than  silence,  old  com- 
rade, to  welcome  you  here  once  more!" 

The  Colonel  turned  to  Sybil  with  a  smile. 
"It's  this  minx,  here,  has  brought  us  calling," 
he  said.  "Didn't  like  the  quiet  way  we  two 
old  people  lived !  Wants  more  life  about  the 
place !  Old  fogy  like  me  not  enough  !  Thinks 
I  ought  to  give  a  ball  for  her !" 

Sybil's  eyes  were  opened  wide  in  protest 
at  that.  "Why,  Uncle  Crockett!"  she  was 
beginning,  while  Miss  Sophia's  tears  stopped 
immediately  and  everyone  looked  expectantly 
at  the  Colonel. 

"'Why,  Uncle,'  is  it?"  the  old  gentleman 
said,  nodding  at  his  friend  as  if  he  alone 
would  understand  the  joke.  "  'Why,  Uncle !' 
Hear  that,  Dick  ?  Do  your  young  ladies  treat 
you  that  way,  too  ?  Tyrants,  that's  what  they 
are,  tyrants!  Make  us  give  'em  balls,  and — 
and  things!" 

"Oh !"  cried  Sybil,  too  amazed  to  say  any- 
thing more. 

165 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"What?  Mean  to  say  you  didn't  know  I 
was  going  to  give  you  a  ball?  Well,  well,  I 
suppose  I  did  forget  to  mention  it!" 

It  was,  after  all,  only  the  first  afternoon  on 
which  the  three  sallied  forth  to  renew  the 
acquaintance  of  the  old  friends  whom  the 
Colonel  and  Miss  Sophia  had  so  long  neg- 
lected, for  some  reason  utterly  beyond  Sy- 
bil's imagination.  But  after  the  first  day  they 
were  somewhat  differently  received,  for  news 
travels  in  swift,  mysterious  ways  in  the  coun- 
try, and  everyone  had  heard  how  Colonel 
Crockett  had  come  forth  from  his  retirement, 
and  had  a  young  niece  visiting  at  Montebello, 
and  was  going  to  give  a  ball  in  her  honor. 
Sybil  was  surprised  at  the  number  of  young 
people  there  were  in  the  neighborhood.  When 
the  Colonel  had  called  at  all  the  big  "places," 
they  even  journeyed  to  the  nearest  town,  St. 
Anne,  and  stopped  at  several  stately  mansions 
there. 

Needless  to  say,  the  days  which  followed 
were  very  different  from  the  earlier  ones. 
People  were  only  too  glad  to  come  once  more 
to  Montebello — the  older  generation  because 
it  had  been  closed  to  them  so  long,  and  be- 
cause of  the  sweet  memories  which  were  still 
i66 


THE   COLONEL   MAKES   A   CALL 

associated  with  it;  the  younger  ones  to  meet 
the  girl  from  the  north  who  had  brought  the 
Crocketts  from  their  retirement  of  forty  years 
or  more.  Sybil  might  have  been  the  young 
lady  of  the  manor,  so  many  were  the  atten- 
tions showered  upon  her.  The  Colonel's  ball 
was  almost  three  weeks  off,  but  the  interval 
was  crowded  with  drives  and  riding  parties, 
little  dances  and  "teas,"  which  were  really 
suppers  with  an  enormous  variety  of  good 
things  to  eat. 

Miss  Sophia  was  in  a  constant  flutter  of 
pleasant  excitement.  **You  are  going  to  be  a 
belle,  my  dear,"  she  declared  to  Sybil,  one 
afternoon,  when  a  crowd  of  girls  and  young 
men  had  come  back  with  her  from  a  riding 
party,  and  departed  after  a  feast  of  cakes 
and  lemonade.  "I  declare,  it's  like  old  times 
to  see  all  these  young  people  around!  O, 
dearie  dear,  I  never  expected  to  have  such  a 
good  time  again  in  my  life,  never!" 

"Nor  I !"  Sybil  cried.  "It  is  perfectly  won- 
derful! I  can't  help  thinking,  though.  Cousin 
Sophia,  of  the  twins,  and  how  they  would 
enjoy  it  all !    And  darling  Donald !" 

But  at  that,  curiously  enough,  Miss  Sophia 
16;^ 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

looked  almost  alarmed,  and  jumped  up,  say- 
ing: 

"O  dear!  O  dear!  I  forgot  to  tell  Aunt 
Sair'  Ann  about  the  spoon-bread  for  supper !" 
and  trotted  away. 

Sybil  laughed,  and  started  into  the  house 
to  change  her  riding  habit ;  but  in  the  hall  she 
came  face  to  face  with  the  Colonel,  who 
hastily  put  his  hand  behind  his  back  when 
he  saw  her. 

She  laughed  again,  and  shook  her  finger 
at  him.  "You  secretive  old  darling!"  she 
said.  "You're  trying  to  hide  something  from 
me!     Now,  what  is  it?" 

The  Colonel  frowned.  "Nothing  of  the 
kind,  nothing  of  the  kind,"  he  said.  "Don't 
be  so  suspicious,  miss !    Bad  trait,  bad  trait !" 

She  tried  to  jump  around  back  of  him,  to 
see  whatever  it  was  that  he  was  hiding,  but 
the  Colonel  was  not  going  to  be  taken  by  sur- 
prise. He  turned  as  she  did,  and  tried  to  dis- 
guise his  amusement  with  a  frown.  "Minx!" 
he  cried.  "You  little  minx!  Scat!  Shod 
Scat !    Upstairs  with  you !" 

Laughing  merrily,  she  ran  upstairs;  but 
half  way  up  she  paused  on  a  landing,  and 
168 


THE   COLONEL   MAKES   A   CALL 

bent  over  the  banister.  The  Colonel  was 
looking  up  at  her,  and  blew  her  a  kiss. 

But  Sybil  had  suddenly  turned  serious. 
*'Uncle,"  she  asked,  "would  you  mind  telling 
me  what  does  make  you  so  good  to  me?" 

The  old  gentleman's  eyebrows  began  to 
work  in  his  most  terrifying  manner,  and  he 
shook  his  head  quite  fiercely.  He  even 
stamped  his  foot! 

"Shoo!  Shoo!  Scat!"  he  cried,  as  if  trying 
to  frighten  away  a  too-playful  kitten;  and 
Sybil  ran  off  to  her  room,  laughing,  but  with 
a  laugh  which  was  very  near  tears. 


XII 
SYBIL'S    QUESTION 

ALTHOUGH  Sybil  often  remembered  the 
intention  she  had  declared  to  Molly  of 
cultivating  the  Hermit's  acquaintance,  it  was 
several  days  before  she  had  a  chance  of  going 
again  to  the  little  brown  house  in  the  woods. 
Every  afternoon,  for  a  while,  was  taken  up 
by  making  and  receiving  calls,  and  later  by 
the  gaieties  that  all  the  people  in  the  neigh- 
borhood vied  with  each  other  in  making  for 
her.  Then,  too,  the  more  time  she  gave  to 
others,  the  less  she  had  to  spare  from  the 
demands  of  home — as  she  was  already  be- 
ginning to  think  of  Montebello.  Miss  Sophia 
was  becoming  daily  more  dependent  upon  her 
for  help  and  advice;  she  fell  into  the  way 
of  running  to  her  at  all  hours,  with,  "My 
dear,  which  would  you  order  for  tea?"  or, 
"My  dear,  do  you  think  the  Miss  Johnsons 
would  like  some  of  this?"  or,  "Aunt  Sair* 
170 


SYBIL'S   QUESTION 

Ann  thinks  we  had  better  have  that.  What 
do  you  think?"  or  else  a  question,  trivial 
enough  in  itself,  but,  oh,  so  momentous  to 
the  little  lady,  so  difficult  to  decide,  about  a 
ribbon  or  a  brooch,  a  lawn  dress  or  a  dimity ! 
Sybil  often  wondered  what  on  earth  Miss 
Sophia  had  done  before  she  came;  but  it  was 
impossible  not  to  see  the  pathos  of  it.  How 
lonely  the  dear  soul  must  have  been,  and  what 
effort  and  courage  it  must  have  cost  her,  all 
these  years,  to  make  the  little  decisions  for 
herself !  The  Colonel,  too,  claimed  more  and 
more  of  her  time  and  attention.  It  seemed 
almost  as  if  he  could  not  bear  to  have  her 
long  out  of  his  sight  If  she  were  off  with 
some  of  the  young  people,  he  would  be  await- 
ing her  return  on  the  piazza,  or  even  down 
by  the  gate;  if  she  were  up  in  her  room,  she 
would  find  him  wandering  about  the  hall 
when  she  came  down,  pretending  to  be  look- 
ing for  something  which  was  right  under  his 
nose!  If  Miss  Sophia  had  carried  her  off,  he 
would  be  in  one  of  his  tempers  when  she 
came  back  to  him;  if  it  were  only  an  hour  or 
two  that  she  had  been  away,  he  would  grum- 
ble as  fiercely  as  if  she  had  been  gone  a 
month!  He  was  constantly  devising  little 
171       • 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

schemes  for  her  amusement;  and  even  while 
she  pretended  not  to  understand  what  he  was 
up  to,  Sybil  could  not  help  being  amused  and 
touched.  It  was  just  a  case  of  trying  to  cut 
out  everyone  else! 

Then,  as  the  weeks  went  on,  even  the  ser- 
vants were  becoming  dependent  upon  her,  as 
was  after  all  natural  enough,  since  both  the 
Colonel  and  Miss  Sophia  submitted  every  lit- 
tle detail  to  her  judgment,  considered  her 
pleasure  in  everything.  Not  a  day  passed  but 
Aunt  Sair'  Ann  would  call  her  down  to  the 
kitchen  for  a  taste  of  this  or  advice  about 
that;  and  Shem  would  come  to  her  for  one 
thing  and  Jinny  for  another,  and  Torm's  little 
brown  children  would  trot  up  in  the  morn- 
ings for  lessons,  or  to  bring  a  bunch  of 
daisies  to  "Missy."  In  the  little  more  than 
two  months  of  her  stay  among  them  she  had 
drawn  all  their  hearts  to  her  in  a  devotion 
that  made  them  forget  she  had  not  always 
belonged  there;  and  even  to  herself  it  some- 
times seemed  that  this  must  always  have  been 
her  home,  and  the  life  in  the  beloved  family 
in  South  Wickham  only  a  long  and  well-re- 
membered dream. 

But  Damascus  had  to  be  exercised  regu- 
172 


SYBIL'S   QUESTION 

larly,  and  Sybil  would  permit  no  one  but  her- 
self to  ride  him.  As  the  days  grew  warmer, 
the  Colonel  went  with  her  less  frequently; 
and  whenever  she  got  a  chance  to  go  out 
alone  she  managed  to  pay  a  little  visit  to  Mr. 
John. 

It  was  not  long  before  they  had  become 
great  friends.  There  was  a  deprecating  gen- 
tleness about  the  old  man's  manner  that 
deeply  appealed  to  Sybil,  and  she  soon  found 
that  her  talks  with  him  were  as  interesting 
as  those  she  used  to  have  with  Dad,  on  their 
long  drives  together  among  the  Massachu- 
setts hills.  She  guessed  that  the  Hermit — 
for  so  she  always  called  him  in  her  thoughts — 
had  never  been  a  man  of  action,  but  one  of 
thought.  He  was  a  student,  and  she  never 
saw  him  without  a  book  in  his  hand  or  pocket ; 
and  whereas  at  Montebello  the  bookcase  doors 
were  seldom  opened  and  there  was  never  a 
magazine  or  new  book  to  be  seen,  the  Her- 
mit's dusty  table  was  piled  with  a  varied 
assortment,  even  to  a  foreign  review  or  two, 
and  several  scientific  papers  and  University 
pamphlets.  He  knew  far  more  of  the  affairs 
of  the  world  than  the  Colonel  did;  for  the 
Colonel's  principal  reading  was  a  Baltimore 
173 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

paper,  some  farm  journals,  and  the  Hagers- 
town  Almanac.  Both  old  men  had  dropped 
out  of  life,  as  it  was  lived  by  their  neigh- 
bors, whose  families  grew  up  about  them, 
who  met  each  other  at  their  homes  or  at  po- 
litical meetings  and  church.  But  Colonel 
Crockett  had  busied  himself  with  his  great 
farm  and  his  horses  and  dogs ;  and  Mr.  John 
had  dwelt  among  books.  The  result  was 
naturally  very  different.  Her  uncle  was  a 
ruddy  and  vigorous  man  in  spite  of  his  re- 
curring spasms  of  gout,  as  energetic  in  his 
actions  as  in  his  words.  The  Hermit  was  a 
gentle  philosopher,  who  let  the  days  pass  by 
with  no  effort  to  make  an  impression  of  his 
own  upon  them. 

There  was  a  low,  weather-worn  bench 
which  was  a  favorite  seat  of  his.  He  had 
built  it  on  a  little  rise  of  ground  among  a 
growth  of  pine  and  scrub  oak  so  dense  as 
almost  wholly  to  screen  it;  yet  a  person  sit- 
ting there  could  see  the  red  roof  of  Monte- 
bello,  and  the  tops  of  its  surrounding  trees, 
and  look  far  over  the  waters  of  the  Chesa- 
peake, to  the  gray  sails  of  the  oystermen's 
canoes  flashing  in  the  sunlight,  and  watch 
the  little  steamer  round  the  bend  into  Cherry- 
174 


SYBIL'S    QUESTION 

pit  Inlet.  The  Hermit  spent  many  hours  in 
that  secluded  spot,  and  there  he  often  talked 
with  Sybil. 

She  had  been  telling  him,  one  day,  how  she 
had  come  to  love  the  life  and  the  people  at 
Montebello,  and  was  beginning  to  feel  as  if 
she  had  always  belonged  there. 

The  Hermit  was  looking  towards  the  dis- 
tant red  roof.  "That  is  because  Montebello 
has  needed  you  so  long,  my  dear,"  he  said. 
"You  did  not  have  to  make  your  place  there ; 
it  was  waiting  for  you." 

Sybil's  eyes  became  misty.  "Everything 
about  the  dear  old  place  seems  to  make  its 
appeal  to  me,"  she  said,  "even  its  quiet  and 
loneliness.  I  wish  I  could  have  known  it 
before  the  war,  when  it  must  have  been  brim- 
ming with  life!" 

Mr.  John  drew  a  quick  breath,  as  if  a  sud- 
den pain  had  stabbed  him. 

"You  knew  it  then,  did  you  not?"  Sybil 
pursued,  on  a  sudden  impulse. 

"I  knew  it  then,"  he  replied  sadly. 

"I  suppose  the  war  must  have  wrecked  it; 
my  friend,  Molly  Rutherford,  has  told  me 
all  sorts  of  stories  of  what  the  war  did." 

The  Hermit's  hand  was  clasped  very  tightly 
175 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

about  the  little  brown  book  on  his  knee. 
"This  county  was  not  a  battlefield,"  he  said, 
slowly,  as  if  he  were  weighing  his  words. 
"But  the  suffering  was  as  great  as  if  it  had 
been.  The  negroes  left  the  growing  crops 
in  the  fields  and  went  away;  the  people  gave 
everything — their  horses,  their  cattle,  their 
blankets — to  the  army;  the  women  even 
melted  their  silver,  and  sent  their  jewels  to 
be  sold." 

After  a  while  Sybil  added,  "And  the  men 
all  went  away  to  the  war!" 

It  seemed  an  innocent  enough  remark;  but 
the  Hermit  arose,  and,  with  a  groan,  threw  his 
arms  above  his  head.  Then,  with  no  further 
words  to  Sybil,  he  groped  his  way  back  to 
the  house,  walking  as  if  the  world  had  sud- 
denly grown  dark. 

Riding  back  to  Montebello  that  day,  she 
had  much  to  think  about.  Her  visits  to  the 
Hermit  had  not  been  secret;  she  had  told 
Miss  Sophia  that  her  rides  often  led  her 
there,  and  Miss  Sophia  had  gently  wept,  and 
trotted  out  of  the  room,  later  to  return  and 
ask  a  trembling  question  or  two  that  made 
Sybil  think  she  must  at  some  time  have 
known  Mr.  John.  Molly  Rutherford  wove  a 
176 


SYBIL'S   QUESTION 

charming  ante-bellum  romance  out  of  this,  to 
Sybil's  somewhat  sceptical  amusement. 

But  Miss  Sophia  had  also  said :  "If  I  were 
you,  I  wouldn't  speak  to  Brother  about — 
about — you  know,  my  dear!  There  is  no 
harm  in  your  going  there;  but  you  might  ex- 
cite dear  Brother  if  you  told  him  about  it!" 

So,  although  until  now  Sybil  had  said  noth- 
ing to  her  Uncle  about  her  new  friend,  to- 
day she  resolved  to  do  so.  She  planned  sev- 
eral ways  of  breaking  it  to  him,  for  she  knew 
that  he  always  objected  to  everything  out  of 
his  usual  routine,  and  she  was  sure  she  should 
have  to  face  and  overcome  an  explosion;  yet 
it  did  not  seem  fair  any  longer  to  have  a 
secret  of  that  sort  from  him.  Their  daily 
increasing  affection  and  friendship  for  each 
other  made  a  demand  which  she  could  not 
conscientiously  ignore ;  and,  besides,  she  could 
not  help  suspecting  that  there  was  more  in 
the  Hermit's  seclusion  than  at  first  sight  ap- 
peared. But,  as  so  often  happens  when  we 
make  plans  for  other  people,  her  disclosure 
came  about  in  an  unexpected  manner,  and 
the  result  was  entirely  unforeseen.  In  fact, 
it  was  one  of  the  great  surprises  of  her  life. 

June  was  almost  at  its  close;  every  win- 
177 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

dow  and  door  was  open,  inviting  the  breeze 
from  the  Bay;  and  after  supper  the  Colonel 
sat  in  his  big  rocking  chair  on  the  piazza,  his 
head  bare,  his  pipe  in  his  mouth,  a  picture 
of  ease  and  satisfaction.  He  was  listening 
to  Sybil  and  Miss  Sophia  singing  some  of 
his  favorite,  old-fashioned  songs  at  the  square 
piano  in  the  drawing-room.  It  had  been  years 
since  the  piano  was  opened,  until  Sybil  came. 
Now  not  a  day  passed  without  its  music  being 
heard  in  the  old  house.  Presently  Miss  So- 
phia went  away  with  Jinny,  to  see  one  of 
Torm's  babies,  who  was  sick ;  and  Sybil  came 
and  stood  in  the  doorway,  her  white  dress 
gleaming  against  the  twilight  of  the  hall. 

The  Colonel  held  out  his  hand  to  her. 
"Come  out  and  watch  the  moon  rise,  little 
girl,"  he  said,  in  his  gentlest  tone. 

She  seated  herself  on  the  step  at  his  feet, 
where  the  Colonel  could  rest  his  hand  on  her 
brown  curls.  He  loved  to  have  her  there; 
and  she  loved  to  sit  where  she  could  look 
out  across  the  acres  of  lawn  to  the  distant 
gleam  of  the  great  Bay.  Presently  the  moon 
would  rise  from  the  waters,  as  already  a  pale 
radiance  on  the  horizon  made  announcement. 
Her  thoughts  took  flight  to  the  beloved  family 
178 


SYBIL'S   QUESTION 

in  South  Wickham,  and  she  wondered 
whether  any  of  those  of  the  doctor's  house- 
hold were  watching  for  the  moon  to  come  up 
over  East  Mountain.  She  could  imagine  the 
chatter  of  the  twins,  and  the  murmur  of 
Mother-dear's  sweet  voice  talking  to  Dad  or 
Hallam  or  dear  old  Dick.  A  lump  of  home- 
sickness rose  in  her  throat,  not  to  be  dis- 
pelled even  by  Aunt  Sair'  Ann's  voice  com- 
ing around  from  the  kitchen,  in  the  long- 
drawn-out,  wailing  music  of  her  favorite  old 
"spiritual."  The  words  of  the  song  came 
clearly  on  the  stillness  of  the  night,  their  wist- 
ful, sweet  appeal  in  perfect  accord  with  the 
evening. 

I  wa-a-a-ant  ter  stan'  what  Moses  stood, 

A-viewi-i-in'  de  lan'scape  o'er; 
Not  Jo-o-ordan's  stream,  nor  death's  col'  flood, 

Kin  pa-a-a-art  me  from  dat  shore! 

And  Shem's  quavering  voice  joined  in  the 
refrain  with  a  peculiar  harmony  of  his  own 
composing : 

'Membe-e-er  de   rich,   'membe-e-er  de   poor! 

'Member  de  bound  an'  de  free ! 
An'  when  you  git  done  a-'memb'rin  all  aroun', 

Good  Lord,  den  'member — me ! 
179 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

The  song  died  away  as  Sair'  Ann  and  Shem 
went  off  together  to  their  own  Httle  cabin 
beyond  the  stable;  and,  still  dreaming,  Sybil 
watched  the  bright  star  in  the  east  grow  paler 
as  the  moon  rose.  Then  a  hoot-owl's  weird 
call  brought  her  thoughts  back  to  things 
nearer  at  hand. 

"There's  the  little  owl!"  she  said.  "We 
have  heard  him  every  night  for  a  week." 

"Yes,"  said  the  Colonel,  who  had  been  con- 
tent to  watch  the  brown  head  close  to  his 
knee,  and  to  wonder  what  thoughts  were 
passing  there.  "Yes,  he's  calling  from  the 
big  oak  down  yonder  at  the  edge  of  the  lawn. 
Funny  little  fellow,  isn't  he?" 

"He  sounds  so  lonely !"  Sybil  said  pityingly. 

The  Colonel  laughed.  "I  reckon  he's  only 
hungry !" 

She  looked  up  over  her  shoulder  at  him  in 
laughing  protest.  "Oh,  Uncle,  don't!  I'd 
rather  think  of  him  as  being  lonely  than  just 
hungry!  It's  so  much  more  picturesque,  so 
much  more — romantic!" 

But  the  Colonel  shook  his  head;  he  evi- 
dently could  not  agree  to  that.    "No !    There 
is    nothing   romantic   about    loneliness,    little 
girl !    You  may  take  my  word  for  that !" 
1 80 


SYBIL'S   QUESTION 

She  turned  so  that  she  could  rest  her  hand 
on  the  broad  arm  of  his  rocking  chair.  "You 
aren't  lonely  any  more,  though,  are  you,  Uncle 
Lovely?"  she  asked,  looking  up  at  him  with 
her  head  on  one  side. 

"Humph !"  said  the  Colonel,  trying  his  best 
to  sound  exasperated.  "Don't  get  a  chance  to 
be,  with  a  saucy  minx  of  a  girl  following  me 
'round  the  place  from  morn  till  night!" 

"But  you  are  dreadfully  sorry  for  anyone 
who  is  lonely,  aren't  you,  Uncle  Beautiful?" 

"Humph !  Don't  know  why  I  should  be ! 
I  found  a  way  to  get  over  it;  so  can  anyone 
else!" 

"Well,  you  needn't  take  all  the  credit  to 
yourself.  Uncle  Bear;  because,  if  I  hadn't 
taken  pity  on  you  and  come  down  here,  you'd 
still  be  lonely,  wouldn't  you  ?" 

The  old  gentleman  put  his  hand  over  hers, 
where  it  rested  on  the  arm  of  his  chair. 
"Might  have  been  better  off!"  he  growled. 

Sybil  laughed.  "Oh,  aren't  you  ashamed  of 
yourself !"  she  cried.  "Anyway,  I  was  sorry 
for  you!  My  heart  just  wobbled  with  pity 
when  I  thought  you  and  Cousin  Sophia  hadn't 
a  soul  on  earth  to  look  after  you !  And  that's 
how  I  feel  towards  everybody  who  is  all  alone 
i8i 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

in  the  world.  Why,  just  think  of  living  in  a 
little  old  house,  'way  off  in  the  woods,  a  house 
without  even  a  road  leading  up  to  it,  and 
with  nothing  but  books  and  sky  and  trees  and 
grass  and  the  Bay  and  one  old  servant  to 
keep  you  company !  Just  think  of  knowing 
that  people  for  miles  around  don't  even  know 
your  name,  just  think " 

But  .the  Colonel  interrupted  her  with  a 
question  that  came  out  as  sharply  as  a  shot 
from  a  pistol.  "Stop !"  he  commanded.  Then, 
"What  are  you  talking  about?" 

Her  heart  began  to  beat  faster;  but  she 
knew  better  than  to  exhibit  the  least  sign  of 
fear. 

"I  am  talking  of  my  friend,  the  Hermit " 
she  replied  very  quietly. 

For  fully  a  minute  the  Colonel  did  not 
speak;  he  looked  at  her  face,  then  out  across 
the  lawn  to  the  moon-lit  water.  At  last,  just 
when  she  was  expecting  a  storm  of  roars 
and  thumps,  he  asked,  in  a  voice  as  quiet  as 
her  own: 

"What  do  you  know  of  him?" 

"I  do  not  know  anything  at  all,  except  that 
he  is  a  dear,  gentle  old  man,  and  the  saddest 
and  loneliest  person  I  ever  saw.  I  found  his 
182 


SYBIL'S    QUESTION 

house  by  accident,  the  day  Damascus  ran 
away  with  me.  Since  then  we  have  become 
good  friends," 

She  expected  the  old  gentleman  to  protest, 
but  he  only  watched  her  silently. 

"Uncle,  there  is  something  about  his  living 
there,  so  close  to  Montebello,  so  separated 
from  it — from  everything — that  I  do  not  un- 
derstand. I — I  cannot  help  feeling  that  it 
ought  not  to  be  so.  He  is  good;  I  am  sure 
he  can  never  have  done  anything  wrong. 
Uncle,  I  cannot  help  feeling  that  there  is 
something  strange  in  his  seclusion,  something 
that  ought  not  to  be !" 

The  Colonel  arose,  pushed  back  his  chair, 
and  ran  his  hand  backward  over  his  white 
hair.  Sybil  stood  up,  too,  and  raised  her  face 
to  look  into  his;  but  he  continued  to  gaze 
across  the  water.  She  could  see  that  he  was 
deeply  moved.    She  put  her  hand  on  his  arm. 

"Uncle,  why  does  Mr.  John  live  there  alone, 
and  why  did  you  and  Cousin  Sophia  live  here 
alone  before  I  came?  Who  is  he?  What 
does  it  all  mean?" 

The  Colonel's  lips  were  trembling.  "He  is 
an  outcast!"  he  said  hoarsely. 

But  Sybil  had  thought  a  great  deal  about 
183 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

what  Molly's  grandfather  had  said.  "Uncle 
dear,"  she  said  very  gently,  very  pleadingly, 
"Molly  Rutherford's  grandfather  said  once, 
when  Molly  asked  about  the  Hermit,  that  the 
war  was  over,  but  its  battles  not  all  lost  or 
won.  Won't  you  tell  me,  please,  what  he 
meant  ?" 

At  first  it  seemed  as  if  the  Colonel  had  not 
heard  her  question;  but  after  a  while  he 
turned,  looked  at  her,  then  put  his  two  hands 
on  the  sides  of  her  head  caressingly,  tenderly, 
and  turned  her  face  up  toward  his  own. 

It  was  the  surprise  of  her  life  to  see  that 
there  were  tears  in  his  eyes.  "Little  girl,"  he 
said,  his  voice  trembling,  "Sybilla !  O,  I  wish 
you  were  my  daughter!" 

Then  he  turned  abruptly  and  walked  into 
the  house.  She  listened  to  his  step  in  the  hall, 
then  to  the  closing  of  the  library  door; 


XIII 
THE  COLONEL  SPRINGS  A  SURPRISE 

THE  wonderful  evening  of  her  talk  with 
the  Colonel  was  followed,  dismally 
enough,  by  a  week  of  rain.  She  was  begin- 
ning to  feel  that  another  day  indoors  would 
make  her  too  cross  for  endurance,  when  she 
awoke  one  morning  with  the  sun  streaming 
across  the  floor  of  her  room,  and  Jinny  stand- 
ing beside  the  bed  with  a  tiny  folded  note. 

Dearest  Sybil  (she  read),  Can  you  ride  Da- 
mascus over  this  afternoon  and  stay  to  tea  ?  Tell 
the  Colonel  that  we  will  send  someone  home  with 
you.  I  have  a  surprise  for  you — and  you  may 
spend  the  hours  between  now  and  afternoon  in 
guessing  what  it  is,  without  even  growing 
"warm" 

Yours,  Molly. 

I 
Sybil  laughed  over  it  while  she  was  dress- 
ing. "  'Ride  Damascus  over,' "  she  said,  read- 
185 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

ing  aloud.  "That's  Molly's  polite  little  way 
of  inviting  me  alone !  I  wonder  what  it  is ! 
I  wonder — I  do  wonder  whether  she  has 
found  out  anything  about  the  Hermit!" 

Needless  to  say,  she  did  not  show  Molly's 
note  to  the  Colonel  or  Miss  Sophia.  Instead, 
she  asked  as  casually  as  she  could : 

"Well,  what  are  you  going  to  do  to-day. 
Uncle,  now  that  the  rain  is  over?" 

But  the  bad  weather  seemed  to  have  af- 
fected the  old  gentleman's  temper  most 
grievously.  "I'm  going  to  attend  to  my  own 
affairs,  Miss !"  he  snapped,  quite  in  his  orig- 
inal manner. 

Sybil's  eyebrows  went  up.  "Oh,  really? 
How  nice  that  will  be!"  she  said.  "Then 
we'll  both  have  a  good  time!" 

She  did  not  notice  that  his  mouth  was 
twitching,  nor  that  he  winked  at  Miss  Sophia. 
"Hey?"  he  demanded  fiercely.  "How's  that? 
How's  that?" 

But  Sybil,  all  unaware  of  his  attempt  at 
concealing  something,  felt  that  this  was  an 
occasion  where  discipline  was  demanded,  so 
she  ignored  his  question  and  spoke  to  Miss 
Sophia,  "If  you  don't  mind.  Cousin  Sophia, 
I  am  going  to  Fordham  for  supper,"  she  said. 
1 86 


A   SURPRISE 

"Someone  from  there  will  ride  home  with 
me. 

Miss  Sophia  was  evidently  alarmed  or  em- 
barrassed at  something;  she  poured  the  tea 
into  the  sugar  bowl  instead  of  into  a  cup. 
"O  dear!  O  dear!  Oh — but  perhaps  you'd 
better  not  go  to-day,  dear!"  she  said. 

Before  Sybil,  in  her  surprise,  could  ask  a 
question,  the  Colonel  pushed  his  chair  back 
from  the  table  and  cried: 

"Oh,  never  mind,  Sophia!  Let  her  go,  let 
her  go,  let  her  go!"  and  stamped  out  of  the 
room  in  a  genuine  fury. 

Sybil  looked  at  Miss  Sophia  with  wide- 
opened  eyes  of  surprise.  "What  on  earth  is 
the  matter  with  Uncle  ?"  she  asked.  "Do  you 
suppose  he  really  wants  me  to  stay  home?" 

But  Miss  Sophia's  reply  was  as  vague  as 
usual,  and  Sybil  put  it  down  to  the  bad 
weather  and  gout. 

But  although  she  did  spend  the  interval  in 
guessing,  the  surprise  proved  a  genuine  one. 
A  tall  masculine  form  was  beside  Molly  on 
the  Fordham  piazza,  waiting  to  greet  her. 

"This  is  my  brother  Jack,  Sybil,"  said 
Molly,  dimpling;  then,  as  they  were  shaking 
hands,  something  inside  the  hallway  attracted 
187 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Sybil's  attention,  and  in  an  instant  she  knew 
all  about  Molly's  surprise. 

"Donald!"  she  cried  wildly;  and  then,  to 
her  own  later  disgust  and  Donald's  embarrass- 
ment, she  had  her  arms  about  his  neck  and 
was  almost  strangling  him,  and  exclaiming, 
and  sobbing  wildly,  while  Donald,  trying  to 
laugh  over  the  top  of  her  head  at  the  others, 
thumped  her  vigorously  -on  the  back,  to  wind 
up  finally  with  a  few  hearty  shakes  that  partly 
stopped  her  tears. 

"Oh,  I've  wanted  to  see  Dad  so  badly,  and 
Mother-dear,  and" — her  sobs  almost  choked 
her — "and — everybody — and  the — kitten — and 
—old— Betty " 

But  that  was  the  moment  that  Donald  chose 
for  his  shaking,  and  Molly  came  forward 
and  put  her  arm  about  Sybil. 

"Oh,  I'm  so  sorry!"  she  cried.  "I  ought 
to  have  known!  That's  just  the  way  I  felt 
when  Jack  came  over  to  Geneva  last  summer, 
and  I  wasn't  expecting  him — wasn't  it, 
Jackie?" 

"Sure,  even  to  the  flow  of  tears !  Perfectly 
natural  way  to  feel!"  said  Jack  Rutherford, 
grinning;  and  Sybil  liked  him  from  that  mo- 
ment. 

i88 


A    SURPRISE 

"I'm  an  awful  goose,"  she  said,  looking  at 
Donald  with  eyes  that  suddenly  dropped, 
abashed  at  something  in  his  face  that  she  did 
not  understand. 

Then  Molly  took  her  upstairs  to  wash  away 
the  traces  of  her  emotion,  and  then  she  had 
to  tell  them  all  over  again  how  ashamed  she 
was.  But  supper  was  ready  very  soon,  for 
Mrs.  Rutherford  knew  all  about  young  peo- 
ple's appetites;  and  when  they  had  managed 
to  make  away  with  enough  of  Clarissy's 
beaten  biscuit  and  peach  marmalade  and  fried 
chicken  and  hard-shelled  crabs  and  oysters 
and  chocolate  cake  and  pickled  mangoes  to 
have  nourished  all  four  for  a  week,  they  went 
out  to  the  piazza  again,  the  girls  to  make 
themselves  comfortable  in  basket  chairs,  the 
young  men  to  find  places  on  the  steps  at  their 
feet. 

"I  had  Unc'  Frank  paint  the  canoe.  Jack," 
said  Molly.  "I  knew  you  wouldn't  want  to 
waste  a  day  of  your  holiday!" 

"Whoop!"  cried  her  brother.  "Good  old 
girl!  I  say,  Donald,  we'll  show  you  some 
sporty  sailing  down  here!" 

"In  a  canoe?"  Sybil  asked  eagerly.     She 
and    Donald    and    Dick  had   paddled  many 
189 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

hours  on  the  Connecticut ;  but  they  had  never 
put  up  a  sail,  and  she  longed  for  the  experi- 
ence.    But  Molly  laughed. 

"Our  canoes  are  not  like  yours,  Sybil!" 
she  explained.  "That's  what  we  call  the  sail 
boats  we  have  down  here.  Haven't  you  no- 
ticed them  on  the  Bay?" 

"We  saw  some  coming  down  on  the  boat 
to-day,  Syb,"  said  Donald.  "One  mast,  some- 
times; sometimes  two.  Queer  sails,  foreign 
looking — smaller  mast  astern." 

"But  those,  I  thought,  are  the  oystermen's 
boats?"  Sybil  said. 

"And  everybody's,"  Jack  told  her,  "that  is, 
everybody  who  wants  a  good  old  Chesapeake 
sail.    We  must  have  an  old-time  picnic,  Moll." 

"Oh,  I've  already  promised  that  Sybil  shall 
hear  Unc'  Frank  sing!  Do  you  think  the 
Colonel  will  let  you  come,  Sybil?" 

"Oh,  he'll  have  to !"  Sybil  said  calmly. 

Donald  whistled.  "Oh,  ho !  So  big  sister's 
in  her  usual  form  down  here,  too,  is  she?" 
he  teased.  "Tamed  the  lion?  Stopped  his 
roars  ?" 

They  laughed,  but  Sybil's  chin  went  up  in 
the  air.  "That  was  only  my  first  impression, 
Donald,"  she  said,  with  great  dignity  and  a 
190 


A   SURPRISE 

rebuking  look.  "He's  the  dearest  old  gentle- 
man that  ever  lived,  and  he's  as  gentle  as  a 
lamb  and  as  kind  as  a — a  fairy  godfather! 
Why — oh  !  I  nearly  forgot  to  tell  you — he's 
going  to  give  us  a  ball,  and  it's  next  week — 
only  next  week,  Don,  and  I've  never  even 
been  to  a  ball  in  all  my  life,  and  this  one's 
mine!" 

She  was  too  excited  to  notice  the  quick  lit- 
tle look  that  Donald  and  Jack  exchanged. 

"Really  ?  You'll  soon  be  growing  up,  won't 
you?"  Donald  said;  and,  as  he  would  have 
expressed  it,  she  promptly  rose  to  the  bait. 

"Molly!  Do  you  hear  that?  Is  that  the 
way  your  brother  talks  to  you?  As  if  I'm 
not  already " 

But  Jack  bent  towards  her;  the  observant 
Molly  had  already  noticed  that  his  eyes  were 
never  away  from  Sybil.  "It's  not  the  way 
I'd  talk  to  you,  anyway.  Miss  Sybil,"  he  said. 

But  Donald  would  not,  apparently,  permit 
any  sentimentality. 

"Well  said,  Jackie !"  he  cried.  "He  learnt 
that  in  college,  Syb!  We  have  a  special 
course  in  it !" 

But  Jack  remained  calm.  "And  we  also 
learnt  to  ask  for  the  first  dance,  the  third, 
191 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

fifth,  seventh  and  ninth — and  supper !  Please, 
ma'am,  won't  you  honor  me  with  just  those 
few,  at  your  ball  ?"  he  asked,  falling  upon  his 
knees  before  her,  quite  as  if  the  top  step  of 
the  piazza  were  made  for  the  purpose. 

Sybil  flushed,  and  laughed.  "Oh,  I— I 
don't  think  I  can " 

"Of  course  she  can't !"  Molly  cried.  "Don't 
be  so  grasping.  Jack!  Sybil  will  be  hostess, 
and  she  can't  let  any  one  man  monopolize 
her!" 

"And,  of  course,  she  belongs  to  me  for 
supper,  anyway!"  Donald  remarked. 

"That's  very  likely !"  Jack  protested.  "Sis- 
ters are  quite  apt  to  give  the  best  things  to 
their  brothers,  aren't  they?  Not  a  bit  of  it, 
old  man!  Supper's  mine,  anyway,  isn't  it, 
Miss  Sybil?" 

Jack  was  a  handsome  fellow,  of  the  typical 
Southern  build,  tall,  slender,  and  lithe,  with 
dark  eyes  and  hair,  and  a  manner  as  beguiling 
as  an  Irishman's.  No  one  had  ever  looked 
at  Sybil  in  just  that  way  before,  nor  treated 
her  with  just  that  shade  of  deference;  some- 
how, it  made  her  feel  a  trifle  less  assured 
than  usual. 

192 


A   SURPRISE 

"Well — supper,  perhaps!  Truly,  I  can't 
promise  more!"  she  said,  dimpling  at  him. 

"I  shall  get  more,  though!"  Jack  vowed. 

"Has  the  Colonel  planned  everything,  Sy- 
bil?" Molly  asked;  and  Sybil  laughed. 

"Well,  I  think  he  must  have !  He  has  writ- 
ten dozens  of  letters  to  Baltimore,  and  Shem 
and  Jinny  are  already  polishing  silver  that 
has  been  locked  up  for  years — so  Jinny  con- 
fided to  me.  And  Torm's  'little  niggers,'  as 
Uncle  calls  them,  have  gone  over  all  the 
downstairs  floors  with  wax  so  many  times 
that  Cousin  Sophia  has  to  hold  on  to  things 
when  she  goes  around  corners!" 

"By  Jove !  I  hope  there'll  be  a  moon !"  cried 
Jack  Rutherford;  and  Donald  looked  at  him 
very  disdainfully. 

Sybil  saw  the  look,  and  hastened  to  speak 
again.  "Oh,  Donnie,  wouldn't  the  twins 
adore  the  ball?  Oh,  I  do  wish  they  could  be 
here!" 

"Humph !"  Donald  grunted.  "Those  babies ! 
What's  the  Colonel  giving,  anyway,  a  party 
with  a  cake  and  candles?  Or  a  Punch  and 
Judy  show?  That'd  be  more  in  the  line  of 
the  twins!" 

.    "I  wish  they  could  hear  you  say  so  1"  cried 
193 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Sybil.  And  so  the  merry  chatter  went  on, 
until  the  hour  came  when  she  must  return 
to  Montebello.  Donald  and  Jack  rode  back 
with  her,  and  when  the  boys  were  introduced 
to  the  Colonel,  Sybil  was  tempted  to  believe 
she  had  been  mistaken  when  she  had  de- 
clared him  tamed. 

The  old  gentleman  grunted,  and  scowled 
his  fiercest,  while  Miss  Sophia  trembled  ex- 
citedly, and  Sybil  wondered  what  had  been 
going  on  in  her  absence.  After  her  escorts 
had  gone,  pursuing  her  usual  custom  of  at- 
tacking the  Colonel  boldly  from  the  front, 
she  said: 

"Uncle,  I  hope  you  will  invite  Donald  to 
stay  here  with — with  us" — here  she  looked  up 
at  him  with  a  little  smile — "with  us.  Uncle, 
before  he  goes  home!" 

Miss  Sophia  smiled  behind  the  Colonel's 
back,  but  the  old  gentleman  replied : 

"Don't  like  boys!  Haven't  any  use  for 
'em!" 

Sybil  thought  it  best  to  ignore  this.  "When 
will  be  the  best  time  to  invite  him  for,  do 
you  think?" 

"Haven't  any  room  for  him!"  the  Colonel 
194 


A   SURPRISE 

declared;  and,  turning  on  his  heel,  disap- 
peared within  the  library. 

Sybil  flushed  hotly.  "Oh,  very  well !"  she 
said,  for  once  leaving  Miss  Sophia  to  wring 
her  hands  and  tremble  uncomforted,  and 
mounting  the  stairs  towards  her  own  room 
with  all  the  dignity  she  could  assume.  She 
was  quite  sure  that  she  was  fully  determined 
to  go  back  with  Donald,  to  remain  no  longer 
with  this  disagreeable  old  person  who  hated 
boys.  She  would  give  him  plenty  of  leisure 
to  hate  whom  he  would — so  she  told  herself — 
with  her  hand  on  her  bedroom  door. 

But  she  was  not  to  open  her  door  that 
night.  It  seemed  to  burst  open  of  itself  as 
she  touched  it;  and  in  a  moment  she  found 
herself  hugged  and  squeezed  by  four  vigor- 
ous arms,  kissed  and  swung  about  and  hugged 
and  kissed  again,  while  a  veritable  fire-works 
display  of  adjectives  and  exclamations  went 
off  around  her. 

It  was  the  twins! 

When  at  last  they  were  silent,  because 
breathless,  Sybil  was  quite  helpless  from  the 
double  surprise  and  the  embraces  and  laugh- 
ter. She  sank  to  the  side  of  the  bed;  with 
195 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Bobs  on  the  floor  in  front  of  her,  and  Bunny's 
plump  arms  about  her  neck,  she  cried : 

"What  are — what  are  you  doing  here,  you 
ridiculous  children?" 

The  twins  were  too  happy  to  notice  the 
reference  to  their  ages.  "He  sent  for  us," 
said  Bunny  between  gasps. 

"And  we  came  down  with  Don  and  Jack," 
Bobs  put  in. 

"Jack's  been  home  with  Donald,  and  I  don't 
care  very  much  for  him,  because  he  doesn't 
think  I  look  any  older  with  my  hair  up  than 
I  did  with " 

"But  he  did  say  he  thought  my  nose  would 
be  very  good  when  I  grew " 

"And  he  says  the  Chinese  admire  plump 
people " 

"And  he  sent  the  carriage  for  us  just  the 
way  he  did  for  you " 

"And  he  wouldn't  let  us  sit  up  and  wait 
for  you " 

"He  said  when  he  was  young  he  had  to  go 
to  bed  at  seven  o'clock " 

"And  he  called  us  'little  girls,'  but  he's  an 
old  dear,  because  he  sent  for  us " 

"And  we  nearly  died  of  longing  to  get 
here!" 

196 


A   SURPRISE 

"Oh,  and  wasn't  the  boat 


There  might  have  been  a  dozen  twins,  from 
the  way  they  swarmed  over  her  as  their  ex- 
citement rose  again. 

"Wait!  Oh,  wait!"  Sybil  cried,  as  she 
tried  to  push  them  away,  almost  too  weak 
from  laughter  to  talk  at  all.  "Oh,  wait!  Oh, 
you — lit — tie — ^geese !" 

It  was  hours  before  they  could  go  to  sleep ; 
but  when  at  last  there  were  no  more  sounds 
from  their  room,  and  the  rest  of  the  house 
was  still,  Sybil  crept  out  to  the  hall  and 
peeped  over  the  banister.  A  broad  band  of 
light  fell  across  the  floor  from  the  library 
door;  the  sweet  breath  of  the  honeysuckle 
that  grew  over  the  front  piazza  swept  in 
through  the  open  front  door;  there  was  no 
least  sound  from  anywhere  in  the  house,  but 
the  little  owl  was  calling  from  the  big  oak  at 
the  edge  of  the  lawn.  Gently,  quietly,  on 
tip-toe,  she  crept  down  the  stairs ;  quietly  she 
drew  toward  the  beam  of  light,  and  peeped 
around  the  corner  of  the  door.  But  quiet 
though  she  had  been,  the  Colonel  had  heard 
her.  He  was  sitting  beside  the  table,  the 
lamp-light  on  his  white  hair,  and  he  looked 
up  over  the  paper  he  had  been  reading. 
197 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"I — I'm  sorry — I — was  cross  with  you!" 
said  Sybil. 

The  Colonel  tried  his  best  to  frown. 
"Humph !"  he  said. 

"And — I — I'm  sorry — ^you — were  cross  with 
me!"  she  added.  And  before  he  could  reply 
she  had  scampered  up  the  stairs  to  bed ! 


XIV 
THE    BALL 

WHEN  the  twins  came  into  the  dining- 
room  on  the  morning  after  their  arri- 
val, they  wore  such  smiling  faces  that  uncon- 
sciously everyone  else  smiled  with  them.  The 
Colonel  did  even  more ;  for  when  he  saw  them 
he  laughed  aloud,  and,  rising,  made  them  a 
profound  bow. 

"Ha!  Good  morning,  young  ladies!"  he 
said,  in  the  manner  he  might  have  used  to- 
wards the  first  lady  in  the  land,  "It  is  a  great 
pleasure  to  see  you  here  this  morning!  I  hope 
you  both  rested  well?" 

How  Bunny  and  Bobs  did  beam!  They 
adored  being  called  young  ladies,  and  if  any- 
thing else  were  needed  to  complete  their  satis- 
faction, it  was  the  Colonel's  formal  courtesy. 

"Good  morning,  sir,"  said  Bunny ;  and  Bobs 
added,  "We  slept  very  well  indeed,  thank 
you!" 

199 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Seeing  how  greatly  he  had  already  pleased 
them,  the  Colonel  did  more;  he  stepped  to 
the  side  of  the  table  and  held  out  a  chair 
for  Roberta,  nodding  to  the  beaming  Shem  to 
do  the  same  for  Abundance.  The  twins  sank 
to  their  places  with  sighs  of  contentment. 
Then  they  looked  about  the  beautiful  table, 
with  its  shining  silver  and  the  big  blue  bowl 
of  yellow  roses  in  the  center,  then  at  Miss 
Sophia,  behind  her  entrenchments  as  usual, 
and  lastly  at  Sybil,  fairly  glowing  all  the  while. 
Sybil  and  the  Colonel  exchanged  glances  of 
amusement,  and  Sybil  said,  as  nearly  in  the 
manner  of  the  happy  pair  as  she  could  repro- 
duce it: 

"Oh,  isn't  it  exciting  T 

But  the  remark  was  so  precisely  what  the 
twins  were  at  that  very  moment  thinking  that 
it  was  no  joke  to  them.  Bobs  sighed,  and 
said: 

"Oh,  isn't  it  r 

And  Bunny  clasped  her  hands  and  spoke 
to  the  Colonel.  "It's  just  too  wonderful  for 
words !" 

The  Colonel's  eyes  were  twinkling,  but  he 
tried  not  to  laugh.  "I  am  greatly  relieved  that 
you  did  sleep  well,  young  ladies,"  he  said, 
200 


THE   BALL 

speaking  in  such  a  manner  as  to  imply  that 
he  meant  far  more  than  he  said.  The  twins 
looked  questioningly  at  each  other  and  at  him. 

"I — er — I    was    somewhat    afraid    that — 

er "  the  Colonel  went  on  hesitatingly.  Miss 

Sophia  began  to  look  alarmed;  but  Sybil, 
holding  her  cup  and  pretending  to  ask  for 
more  coffee,  whispered  something  to  the  little 
lady  that  calmed  her,  although  her  smile  re- 
mained somewhat  anxious.  Then  Sybil,  not 
trusting  herself  to  look  at  the  Colonel,  said: 

"Perhaps,  Uncle,  it  might  be  just  as  well 
not  to  say  anything  about — the — er — you 
know !    No  use  alarming  people — you  know  ?" 

There  were  long-drawn  breaths  of  ecstasy 
from  the  twins.  "Oh!  Not — not  a  ghost f" 
cried  Bunny,  looking  excitedly  from  Sybil  to 
the  Colonel. 

"Oh,  is  it?  Is  there  really  and  truly  a 
ghost  ?  Oh,  we  do  so  want  to  see  a  ghost !" 
Bobs  exclaimed. 

Then  the  Colonel  and  Sybil  laughed  merrily. 
"No,  you  geese !"  cried  Sybil.  "We  were  just 
teasing  you.  There  isn't  a  ghost  about  the 
place,  as  far  as  anyone  knows.  Perhaps  you 
might  persuade  one  to  come  pay  us  a  visit, 
though!" 

201 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"Yes,  whistle  for  it,  as  you  do  for  a  breeze," 
said  the  Colonel,  chuckling. 

But  Miss  Sophia  looked  anxious.  "Ghosts  ? 
O  dear  me!     I  hope  not,  indeed!" 

"Well,  anyway,"  said  Bunny,  "there  must 
be  a  mystery.  There  couldn't  be  an  old  house 
like  this  without  a  mystery!" 

The  Colonel's  brows  drew  down  somewhat 
at  that,  and  Sybil  hastened  to  avert  a  possible 
storm. 

"You  are  such  infants!"  she  said  to  the 
twins,  in  her  most  elder-sisterly  manner, 
which  never  failed  to  win  a  protest  from  them, 
as  she  very  well  knew. 

"Indeed,  Sybil,"  said  Bobs,  very  earnestly, 
"I  do  think  you  might  let  us  be  one  year 
older  every  year!  You  still  treat  us  as  you 
did  when  we  were  twelve  I" 

"Hear,  hear!"  said  the  Colonel.  "I  quite 
agree  with  these  young  ladies,  my  dear! 
When  people  are  old  enough  to  go  to  balls,  it 
seems  to  me  they  are  very  nearly  grown-up, 
at  any  rate !" 

"Nonsense!"      Sybil   said.      "Uncle,   these 
children  cannot  possibly  come  to  the  dance! 
Why,  they're  still  in   short  dresses!     What 
would  Mother-dear  say?" 
202 


THE    BALL 

Immediately  the  two  looked  anxious,  but  the 
Colonel  smiled  at  them  reassuringly.  "That 
was  all  arranged  before  the  ladies  left  home," 
he  said.  "I  have  full  permission  here,"  he 
tapped  the  region  of  his  breast  pocket — "and 
I  think  there  are  some  ribbons  and  folderols 
in  a  box  in  the  bottom  of  the  big  trunk  that 
arrived  last  night." 

"Oh !  The  box  Mother-dear  told  us  not  to 
peep  into!"  the  twins  cried. 

Then,  their  feelings  being  altogether  too 
much  for  them,  they  jumped  up  from  the 
table  with  one  accord,  and  rushed  upon  the 
Colonel  with  embraces  such  as  he  had  never 
before  experienced  in  all  his  seventy-odd 
years  of  life.  Whether  he  liked  them  or  not 
might  have  been  told  by  the  way  he  and  the 
twins  spent  the  hours  before  the  long-expected 
Saturday  evening,  always  in  a  little  company 
of  three,  sometimes  doing  things  with  a  step- 
ladder  and  branches  of  cedar,  sometimes  with 
strings  of  Japanese  lanterns,  sometimes  in  the 
kitchen,  greatly  to  Aunt  Sair'  Ann's  disgust 
and  confusion,  sometimes  unpacking  the  big 
boxes  that  came  down  from  Baltimore,  but 
always  together,  always  merry,  and,  most 
203 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

wonderful  to  relate  as  far  as  the  Colonel  was 
concerned,  always  in  a  good  humor! 

Sybil  was  delighted  to  see  the  old  man  so 
happy.  "He  is  only  a  dear  big  old  baby, 
himself,"  she  whispered  to  Donald,  when, 
the  morning  of  the  ball,  they  were  all  busily 
at  work  on  the  preparations.  "Look  at  him 
now — he's  just  about  the  age  of  those  twins  !" 

The  Colonel  had  a  paper  cap  on  his  head — 
Bobs  had  wished  to  investigate  one  of  the 
cotillion  favors — and  was  standing  on  a 
kitchen  chair  putting  candles  into  the  lanterns 
that  swayed  in  the  breeze  above  the  front 
steps. 

"He's  not  such  a  bad  sort,  after  all,"  said 
Donald.  "But  I  hope  you  aren't  getting  so 
fond  of  him,  Syb,  that  you'll  want  to  stay 
down  here." 

Sybil  looked  at  him  indignantly.  "Why, 
Donald  Crawford!  How  can  you  be  jealous 
of  that  dear  old  man?"  she  said,  as  usual  at- 
tacking from  the  front. 

Donald  ignored  her  remark.  "And  if  you'll 
allow  me  to  say  so,"  he  went  on,  "I  think 
you'd  better  not  get  too  fond  of  anybody  else 
down  here,  either!" 

Sybil  stared  at  him  in  amazement  for  a 
204 


THE   BALL 

moment;  then  she  began  to  understand  some- 
thing of  his  meaning,  and  her  face  flushed. 

"Would  you  mind  explaining  just  what  you 
mean  ?"  she  asked,  quietly. 

"Oh,  I  guess  you  know  well  enough,"  said 
Donald.  "How  many  dances  have  you  prom- 
ised him,  anyway?" 

Sybil  did  know  what  he  meant,  and  not 
without  reason.  On  the  excuse  of  helping 
with  the  preparations  for  the  ball,  the  Ruther- 
fords  and  Donald  had  been  at  Montebello 
every  day  and  all  day;  and  Jack  was  not  one 
of  those  young  men  who  are  content  to  let 
things  drift  along.  In  whatever  craft  he  was 
interested  he  must  be  at  the  helm.  So  he  had 
won  more  tete-a-tetes  with  Sybil,  but  not  more 
than  Donald  had  noticed.  Now,  as  Donald 
spoke,  Sybil  realized  how  well  she  had  come 
to  know  Jack  during  even  these  few  days,  and 
flushed;  but  she  would  have  turned  the  point 
of  his  unfortunate  remark,  or  laughed  it  away, 
if  Jack  himself  had  not  come  around  the  cor- 
ner of  the  hall  just  in  time  to  hear  a  part  of  it. 
But  come  he  did,  and  it  was  evident  that  he 
had  heard;  for  he  stood  still,  looking  from 
Donald's  angry  face  to  Sybil's  blushing  one. 
205 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Then  he  also  flushed  slightly,  but  at  the  same 
time  made  a  brave  effort  to  speak  lightly. 

"Yes,  how  many  dances  have  you  promised 
him,  Sybil?  Because  if  you  promise  dances 
to  anyone  but  Don  and  me,  there'll  be  trouble 
— won't  there,  Don?" 

Donald  glowered,  and  said  nothing.  Sybil 
determined  his  punishment  on  the  instant. 

"Oh,  we  don't  want  any  trouble,"  she  said, 
"so  just  to  pacify  you.  Jack,  you  may  have 
the  supper  dance — if  you  still  want  it!" 

Now  it  was  Donald's  turn  to  flush!  He 
had  claimed  Sybil  for  supper  since  the  first 
mention  of  the  ball.  Jack  looked  from  one 
to  the  other. 

"Want  it !    Of  course  I  do !    But— I  say !" 

Sybil  was  smiling  at  Donald,  calmly,  se- 
renely, and  looking  at  him  out  of  the  comers 
of  her  eyes.  She  had  scored !  .  And  what  was 
more,  she  had  never  looked  more  bewitching, 
and  both  young  men  were  as  well  aware  of  it 
as  she  was  herself ! 

"Oh,  all  right!"  said  Donald,  and  swinging 
himself  around,  stalked  away. 

Jack  looked  after  him,  then  gave  vent  to 
a  prolonged  whistle.  "By  Jove!"  he  ex- 
206 


THE   BALL 

claimed.  "I  say!  I  hope  you'll  never  be  as 
cruel  as  that  to  me!" 

"Cruel?  In  giving  you  the  supper  dance? 
Oh,  if  you  feel  that  way " 

"You  know  how  I  feel  about  it,  Sybil!" 
said  Jack,  coming  closer  until  Sybil  hastily 
stepped  back.  "You  know  I've  wanted  that 
dance  all  along !  That's .  why  I  know  how 
Don  feels  at  having  it  taken  away  from  him. 
I  want  it  as  badly  as  I  want  anything — almost ; 
but  I  don't  think  you  ought  to  take  it  away 
from  old  Don." 

"Oh,  pray  don't  take  it  if  you  don't  want 
to,"  said  Sybil,  wilfully  misunderstanding. 
But  unlike  poor  Donald,  Jack  remained  cool. 
He  even  bent  a  little  toward  her.  "  'If  I  don't 
want  to !'  Sybil  1  Look  up  here — look  at  me ! 
Shall  I  tell  you  what  I  do  want?" 

But  that  was  too  much  for  Sybil's  com- 
posure. Donald  and  Dick  never  spoke  to  her, 
never  looked  at  her,  like  that! 

"No !  Oh,  no !"  she  cried,  and  slipping  past 
Jack  ran  away  as  fast  as  she  could. 

How  she  wished  that  the  spirit  of  mischief 

had  not  stirred  her  to  attack  poor  old  Donald ! 

There  had  been  something  in  Jack's  face  that 

frightened  her,  and  she  wanted  to  hide — to 

207 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

hide  from  herself,  if  possible,  but  certainly  to 
hide  from  all  inquisitive  eyes  as  long  as  her 
blushes  lasted  and  her  heart  was  beating  in 
that  disagreeable  way — or  that  way  that  was 
almost  disagreeable!  She  ran  through  the 
hall — the  twins  called  after  her  to  come  and 
help  advise  the  Colonel  in  his  decorations. 
She  went  into  the  drawing-room — Miss  Sophia 
was  there  bubbling  with  excited  questions 
about  the  floor.  She  made  an  excuse  to  go 
up  to  her  room,  and  bumped  into  Donald  on 
the  stairs — Donald,  still  looking  thunderous 
and  gloomy.  At  last  she  reached  her  own 
door  and  shut  it  behind  her — to  find  Jinny 
on  her  knees  before  Molly,  sewing  up  a  torn 
ruffle! 

"O  dear !"  she  cried,  the  words  coming  out 
before  she  was  aware  of  them. 

Molly  looked  up,  saw  the  blushing  face, 
remembered  the  voices  that  had  risen,  indis- 
tinctly, from  the  piazza  beneath  the  window, 
raised  her  eyebrows,  and  smiled. 

"Thank  you.  Jinny,"  she  said,  bending  over 
and  taking  the  needle  from  Jinny's  hand. 
"Miss  Sybil  will  finish  this  for  me,  I  know. 
Go  down  to  your  work  now." 

Then,  when  Jinny  was  gone,  she  shook  her 
208 


THE   BALL 

head  at  Sybil.  "Something's  been  happen- 
ing!" she  said. 

Sybil  crossed  the  room  to  a  window,  and 
stood  there,  looking  out,  her  hands  on  her 
burning  cheeks.  Molly  calmly  sewed  on  until 
the  ruffle  was  mended,  broke  the  thread,  stuck 
the  needle  in  a  cushion,  and  then  went  to 
Sybil's  side,  putting  her  arms  around  her 
friend. 

"Confess!"  she  said.  "Something's  been 
happening !" 

But  Sybil  had  recovered  a  part,  at  least, 
of  her  self-possession.  "Yes,  I've  been  fight- 
ing with  Donald,"  she  said  "and  it  always  up- 
sets me  so  to  quarrel  with  him!" 

Molly  smiled,  all  unseen.  "Ah!  A  dread- 
ful thing,  to  quarrel  with  one's  brother!  But 
it  wasn't  your  brother's  voice  I  heard  beneath 
this  window,  my  child !" 

At  that  Sybil  swung  around.  "Oh!  Did 
you  hear?"  she  cried. 

"Hear  you  quarrelling  with  Donald?  Not 
a  word!" 

"No,  you  wretch!  Did  you  hear — Oh, 
Molly!    You  didn't— did  you?" 

Molly  laughed.  "Not  a  word!  On  my 
honor  I  did  not !  But  I  heard  Jack's  voice — 
209 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

and  I've  known  my  brother  quite  a  while, 
dear!" 

"Oh,  well,"  said  Sybil,  "he  wasn't  saying 
anything  you  ought  not  to  have  heard,  you 
know !" 

"I'm  quite  sure  of  that,"  said  Molly.  "But 
I  think  I  could  give  a  very  good  guess " 

"Don't!"  cried  Sybil. 

But  Molly's  face  was  serious  now,  and  she 
kissed  Sybil  on  the  cheek.  "I've  been  watch- 
ing Jack  ever  since  he  came  home,"  she  said, 
"and  I  knew  this  was  coming." 

Sybil  blushed  furiously.  "Molly!  Oh, 
Molly!  Please — please!  Don't  talk  like  that ! 
Nothing  has  happened !  Jack  hasn't  said  a 
word  that — that  means " 

"Oh,  well,  he  will !"  said  Molly,  calmly. 

"I  never  heard  of  such  nonsense !"  Sybil 
protested.  "I  can't  pretend  not  to  know  what 
you  mean — you  make  it  too  plain.  But  it's 
nonsense — how  could  it  be  anything  else,  with 
such  a  boy?" 

"Jack  is  twenty-one,"  Molly  said.  "Papa 
was  married  when  he  was  twenty-one,  and 
Grandfather  was  only  twenty!  So  it  isn't 
altogether  nonsense,  not  on  Jack's  part,  any- 
way, you  see!" 

210 


THE    BALL 

"Oh,  but  it  is!"  Sybil  cried,  really  dis- 
tressed  now.     "Besides,   Donald "     She 

stopped,  not  finding  the  words  for  what  she 
wished  to  say. 

"Donald  won't  count,  Sybil,  if  Jack  is  the 
right  one  for  you,"  said  Molly.  "Do  you 
suppose  Jack  will  count  with  me,  when  my 
right  one  comes  along?" 

Sybil  drew  away,  and  again  stood  looking 
out  of  the  window.  How  could  she  explain? 
Yet  she  was  beginning  to  feel  that  she  must. 

"Molly,"  she  said,  "I  want  to  tell  you  some- 
thing. It  is  a  secret — and  not  altogether  my 
secret.  So  will  you  promise  not  to  tell  a  single 
soul?" 

"Why — ought  you  tell  me  a  secret  that  isn't 
yours?"  Molly  asked. 

"I  know  I  ought  to  tell  you  this.    Promise  ?" 

"Of  course  I  promise.     But " 

"No  buts!  Listen!  I  am  not  really  Don- 
ald's sister,  nor  the  twins'  sister,  nor — any- 
body's.    I — I  am  an  Adopted,  Molly!" 

"A  what?"  Molly  asked,  amazed  and  in- 
credulous and  amused. 

"An  Adopted.  An  adopted  child,  you  know. 
Doctor  Crawford  and  Mother-dear  are  not 
my  really-truly  mother  and  father,  although 

211 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

they  are  all  I've  ever  known,  and  I  love  them 
just  precisely  the  same.  My  father  and 
mother  died  when  I  was  a  tiny  baby,  and  they 
gave  me  to  Dad  and  Mother-dear.  Donald 
knows,  and  Dick,  but  the  others  don't  even 
suspect." 

Molly's  amazement  was  quite  speechless  at 
first,  but  she  was  thinking  hard.  "And — they 
named  you — Sybilla?"  she  asked. 

"Yes.  Probably  because  it  was  a  family 
name." 

Molly's  expression  was  strange  indeed. 
She  was  looking  at  Sybil  as  if  she  had  never 
seen  her  clearly  before,  and  there  were  little 
red  spots  of  excitement  on  her  cheeks.  "Prob- 
ably!" she  said,  with  a  queer  little  smile. 
Then  she  asked,  "Does  the  Colonel  know 
this?" 

"No !  And  you  promised  not  to  tell  a  soul  !'* 
Sybil  reminded  her. 

"I  know !  But  oh,  Sybil,  Jack  must  know ! 
You  will  let  me  tell  poor  old  Jack,  won't  you  ? 
Why,  Donald  knows  that  you " 

"Of  course  I  won't !  Why  should  I  ?"  Sybil 
cried. 

"Oh,  it's  not  fair !"  Molly  began ;  but  Sybil 
had  endured  enough,  and,  with  a  little  laugh, 

212 


THE   BALL 

she  ran  away  to  join  the  workers  in  the  room 
below. 

Even  the  most  elaborate  of  preparations 
must  come  to  an  end  at  last,  however.  By 
supper-time  on  that  evening  of  the  long-ex- 
pected Saturday,  the  old  house  of  Montebello 
was  dressed  forth  in  such  state  as  it  had  not 
seen  in  two  generations.  Every  mantelpiece 
was  banked  high  with  flowers,  every  fire-place 
filled  with  them.  Every  window  and  door 
stood  wide  open,  a  lantern  swaying  in  each. 
There  were  candles  on  the  mantels  and  tables, 
in  branching  candelabras  and  girandoles,  all 
awaiting  the  coming  of  darkness  to  shine  out 
like  so  many  captive  fireflies.  The  great 
square  hall,  with  its  marble  floor,  was  to 
be  the  supper-room;  the  sideboard  from  the 
dining-room  had  been  moved  out  there,  and 
was  groaning  with  its  burden  of  dainties. 
Little  tables  were  set  in  the  corners,  and 
crowded  back  against  the  walls,  later  to  be 
brought  forward,  when  supper-time  should 
arrive;  others  were  on  the  lawn. 

"Standing  there  like  ladies  of  the  chorus, 

in  their  white  dresses,  waiting  for  their  turn 

to  dance  to  the  front  of  the  stage,"  said  Jack 

Rutherford,    as    the    party    from    Montford 

213 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

looked  back  through  the  doorway  for  a  final 
survey  before  they  went  home  to  dress. 

The  furniture  in  the  four  big  rooms  down- 
stairs had  been  moved  back,  and  the  bare 
floors  gleamed  with  wax,  shining  tributes  to 
the  industry  of  Torm's  youngsters.  On  the 
veranda  were  groups  of  easy-chairs,  and 
similar  groups  waited  invitingly  under  the 
trees  on  the  lawn;  while  on  the  front  steps — 
time-honored  lounging  place  of  the  young 
people  of  the  South — were  rugs  and  cushions ; 
and  here,  there,  and  everywhere  the  Colonel 
had  left  big  palm-leaf  fans. 

"Cert'n'y  does  look  like  ol'  times  befo'  de 
War,"  said  Aunt  Sair'  Ann,  standing  in  the 
hall  with  arms  akimbo,  when  "the  fambly" 
had  gone  upstairs,  and  she  had  come  up  from 
the  kitchen  to  see  "the  rooms."  "Ain't  seen 
nothin'  like  dis  yer  sence — sence " 

Shem  came  close  to  his  wife,  and  whispered 
something  in  her  ear.  Aunt  Sair '  Ann 
jumped. 

"G'way  f  om  here,"she  cried,  "wid  yo'  sini- 
wations.  Ain't  no  sech  thing  as  comin'  back, 
not  in  de  flesh,  anyways!  You  g'way  f'om 
here,  you  black  Shem!     Missy  don'  look  no 

mo'  like  ol'  Miss — den — den " 

214 


THE   BALL 

But  Shem  beckoned  his  better  half  across 
the  hall  to  the  Colonel's  study,  now  looking 
so  unlike  its  usual  self  in  its  unaccustomed 
festive  dress.  The  two  crossed  the  room  to 
the  door  that  was  always  kept  closed,  the 
"door  of  memory."  Shem  drew  a  key  from 
his  pocket,  put  it  in  the  lock,  turned  it,  and 
opened  the  door  a  little  way. 

"You  poke  yo'  haid  in  dar !"  he  commanded. 

Sair'  Ann  did  as  he  bade  her,  and  what- 
ever she  saw  must  certainly  have  alarmed 
her.  She  drew  back  with  a  cry  that  was  half 
a  moan,  threw  her  apron  over  her  head,  and 
sank  to  her  knees, 

"Oh,  my  soul !  Oh,  my  soul !"  she  moaned, 
"De  daid  done  come  to  life!  De  jedgmint 
day's  at  hand  f o'  sure !" 

Shem  locked  the  door  again,  and  put  the 
key  back  in  his  pocket. 

"No  'tain't,"  he  said,  " 'Tain't  nothin' 
more'n  de  day  o'  de  ball!  But  I  knows  fo' 
sure  dey's  some'n  queer  in  de  air,  'cause  'tain't 
like  de  Gunnel  to  go  roun'  like  a  lamb  on  a 
leadin'  string,  wid  dem  twinses  and  Missy  a 
leadin'  of  him,  I  tell  you  what  'tis,  Sair'  Ann, 
it's  Missy " 

Aunt  Sair'  Ann  arose,  and  faced  her  small 

215 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

husband  majestically.  "You  hush !"  she  said, 
solemnly.  "You  hush!  'Tain't  for  you  an' 
me,  ner  fer  de  likes  ob  you  an'  me,  to  go 
roun'  inquirin'  into  de  mystreeous !  You  come 
along  down  to  de  kitchen  an'  put  on  dat 
white  coat  I  done  ironed  for  you,  an'  help 
me  whop  up  dem  aigs  for  de  custard.  Dem 
twins  sure  kin  eat  a  powerful  lot  f o'  supper !" 

So  Shem  went  off  to  get  into  his  white 
coat,  while  upstairs  Miss  Sophia  was  dressing 
in  her  brand-new  lavender  silk  which  the 
dressmaker  in  St.  Anne's  had  ordered  from 
Baltimore  especially  for  the  great  occasion, 
and  Sybil  was  putting  on  the  white  dress  that 
Mother-dear  had  sent  in  the  mysterious  box 
in  the  bottom  of  the  twins'  trunk,  and  that 
exuberant  pair  were  admiring  their  new 
sashes,  and  Abundance  was  vainly  pleading 
with  Sybil  to  be  allowed  to  "do  up"  her  hair. 
The  Colonel  was  an  inordinately  proud  old 
gentleman  when  "the  ladies"  came  down 
stairs. 

He  stood  in  the  hall,  looking  up  at  them, 
radiant  in  his  evening  suit  which  had  not 
been  worn  for  many  years,  and  was  just  a 
trifle  tight  about  the  waist,  but  none  the  less 
becoming  and  imposing.  The  twins  were  the 
216 


THE   BALL 

first  to  descend,  and  the  old  gentleman  raised 
his  hands  in  admiration  when  they  stood 
before  him. 

"Dear,  dear!"  he  said.  "Such  magnifi- 
cence !" 

The  twins  threw  themselves  upon  him, 
greatly  to  the  alarm  of  Sybil,  who  was  com- 
ing down  at  the  moment. 

"Oh,  don't!  Children,  don't!  Remember 
his  collar!"  she  cried.  When  the  twins  had 
run  up  to  show  themselves  to  Miss  Sophia, 
and  they  were  alone  together  in  the  hall,  she 
said : 

"Uncle,  I  am  tempted  to  wonder  which  is 
the  better  man,  you  or  my  Dad !" 

It  was  so  unexpected  a  remark,  and  meant 
so  much,  that  for  a  moment  the  Colonel  could 
only  look  at  her  in  silence.  Then,  to  her  dis- 
may, his  eyes  slowly  filled  with  tears — and 
tears  always  seem  so  painful,  so  pitiful,  in 
the  eyes  of  the  old !  Sybil  put  her  arms  about 
one  of  his,  and  laid  her  cheek  against  his 
shoulder,  so  that  she  need  not  see;  then,  rest- 
ing a  little  kiss  on  the  black  broadcloth,  she 
drew  away. 

"Oh,  I  nearly  forgot!  I  have  a  posy  for 
you!"  she  cried.  "I  have  kept  it  in  Shem's 
217 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

ice-box  all  day!"  She  ran  away,  but  was 
back  in  a  minute  or  two  with  a  little  boutton- 
niere  she  had  made — a  white  rose,  with  a 
sprig  of  maiden-hair,  and  a  cluster  of  un- 
opened buds.  She  pinned  it  in  place  on  her 
uncle's  coat,  while  he  watched  her;  and  when 
he  had  thanked  her,  he  added : 

"And  I  have  something  for  you,  my  dear !" 

Then,  from  a  mysterious  pocket  in  the  tails 
of  his  coat  he  brought  out  a  box  of  worn 
red  morocco.  She  opened  it,  divining  that  it 
must  hold  something  he  greatly  treasured,  and 
looked  down  at  a  necklace  of  little  pearls. 

The  Colonel  laid  his  hand  on  her  head.  "I 
want  you  to  wear  those  at  your  first  ball,  my 
child !    They  belonged  to — another — Sybilla !" 

And,  without  waiting  for  thanks,  he  walked 
away,  with  bent  head,  toward  his  library. 

But  its  unaccustomed  aspect  was  not  invit- 
ing, and  he  was  back  again  in  time  to  hear  the 
twins  declare,  as  they  inspected  Sybil's  pearls, 
"Oh,  it's  just  like  Christmas!" 

For  once  the  young  people  were  too  excited 
to  do  justice  to  Aunt  Sair'  Ann's  supper ;  and, 
as  the  Colonel's  invitation  had  been  to  come 
early,  the  guests  began  to  arrive  before  the 
moon  was  up,  Sybil  stood  between  Miss  So- 
218 


THE   BALL 

phia  and  the  Colonel,  just  inside  the  big  front 
door,  to  welcome  them.  They  were  of  all 
ages;  and  if  the  younger  ones  looked  at  her 
for  one  reason,  the  older  ones  must  have  found 
a  reason  of  their  own. 

"My  niece,  Sybilla!"  was  the  Colonel's  in- 
variable introduction ;  but  many  a  white-haired 
man  and  woman  looked  at  her  more  than  once, 
that  night,  and  repeated,  in  tones  of  varying 
wonder : 

"Sybilla!" 

Many  there  were,  too,  who  watched  her 
open  the  dance  with  the  Colonel,  a  charming 
pair,  treading  the  almost  forgotten  figures  of 
the  lancers,  which  Japhet  called  out  in  a  mel- 
low negro  voice  that  fairly  sang  with  enjoy- 
ment. For  Japhet  appeared  that  night  in  a 
new  role,  and  fiddled  away  as  merrily  as 
Torm,  or  Major  Rutherford's  Moses,  or  Miss 
Sophie  Hartwell's  Big  Ben.  Old  Japhet  was 
only  one  of  many  who  watched  her  white  fig- 
ure wherever  it  danced;  nor  was  he  the  only 
one  who  shook  his  head  and  sighed,  at  the 
memory  of  something  or  someone  she  recalled. 

And  indeed,  if  Sybil  had  been  sweet  and 
charming  before,  she  was  something  more 
to-night.  Feeling  herself  the  hostess  of  this 
219 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

goodly  company,  knowing  herself  as  the  one 
whom  the  Colonel  delighted  to  honor  before 
them  all,  it  was  no  more  than  seemly  that 
she  should  hold  herself  with  a  little  more 
dignity,  lift  her  head  with  something  of  new 
stateliness,  bestow  her  smiles  and  dances  with 
a  royal  impartiality,  have  a  thought  for  every- 
one's comfort,  take  good  care  that  all  of  the 
young  people  danced  and  the  older  ones  had 
comfortable  places.  Even  for  the  brown 
faces  peeping  in  through  the  back  windows 
she  had  a  special  smile  and  nod,  and,  at 
Jinny's  whispered  request,  she  even  slipped 
off  to  the  kitchen  to  "show  herself!" 

Everyone  declared  that  if  Montebello  had 
indeed  been  closed  for  years,  it  more  than 
made  up  for  its  long  obscurity  by  the  bril- 
liancy of  that  night.  The  Colonel  had  spared 
nothing  of  forethought  or  expense,  every  serv- 
ant did  his  or  her  part,  the  weather  was  per- 
fect, the  moon  almost  full!  The  floors  were 
like  glass,  the  supper  was  delicious,  and  the 
fiddles  unwearied !  The  twins  danced  every 
dance,  for  their  beaming  faces  were  irresist- 
ible magnets  for  partners;  and  if  Sybil,  as 
was  only  natural,  had  more  swains  than  she 
could  manage,  she  relented   toward  Donald 

220 


THE   BALL 

so  far  as  to  divide  her  supper  dance  between 
him  and  Jack  Rutherford.  Indeed,  it  was 
not  until  everyone  else  was  taken  care  of  that 
she  let  the  pair  of  them  find  her  a  place  on 
the  lawn,  and  bring  her  a  share  of  ices  and 
other  good  things. 

The  Colonel  was  attentiveness  itself  to  his 
guests,  but  somehow  he  managed  to  know 
where  Sybil  was  every  minute ;  and  at  supper- 
time  Major  Rutherford  found  him  standing 
in  a  far  corner  by  a  window,  looking  out  on 
the  lawn  where  she  was  the  center  of  a  pretty 
group.  As  Major  Rutherford  stood  v/atch- 
ing  him,  the  old  gentleman  lifted  the  lapel  of 
his  coat  on  which  Sybil's  white  rose  rested, 
and  looked  down  at  it. 

The  Major  came  up  and  laid  a  hand  on 
his  old  friend's  shoulder.  "I  believe  that's  a 
sentimental  token,  William!"  he  said,  teas- 
ingly. 

The  Colonel  wheeled  about  with  a  smile. 
"Yes,  Tom,  that's  just  what  it  is,"  he  said. 
"The  little  girl  presented  it  to  me!  And — 
Tom — d'ye  know  what  rose  it  is?  It  was  cut 
from  the  bush  Sybilla  planted — and  that  grew 
from  a  sprig  of  her  wedding  bouquet !" 

He  turned  to  look  again  at  the  young  peo- 

221 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

pie  on  the  lawn.  Neither  could  speak.  Old 
memories  arose,  crowding  about  them  like 
wraiths  of  the  past.  So  they  stood  silently, 
until  the  groups  on  the  lawn  began  to  break 
up  into  other  groups;  then  Major  Rutherford 
said: 

"God  moves  m  a  mysterious  way,  William." 
"Yes,"  said  the  Colonel.     "And  sometimes 
we  poor  mortals  do  all  we  can  to  block  His 
way,  Tom." 


XV 

A    CHESAPEAKE    PICNIC 

BRIGHT  and  early  on  the  morning  after 
the  ball,  long  before  the  sandman  had 
departed  from  the  twins,  and  while  the 
Colonel  and  Miss  Sophia  were  still  asleep, 
Sybil  arose,  dressed  herself  in  her  riding- 
habit,  and  crept  on  tip-toe  down  to  the  kitchen. 
Aunt  Sair'  Ann  seemed  to  be  expecting  her, 
early  though  it  was. 

"Well,  now,  jest  look  yonder!"  she  cried, 
with  a  beaming  smile  and  upraised  hands  of 
admiration.  "Fraish  as  a  rose,  same's  ef  we- 
all  didn't  have  no  ball  last  night !  It  do  beat 
all  how  de  young  folks  can  prance  an'  dance 
an'  keep  on  a-goin'!" 

"Then  you  must  be  young  yourself. 
Auntie,"  Sybil  laughed,  "for  you're  up  and 
going  this  morning,  too !" 

"Sho !  or  nigger  like  me  don't  need  more'n 
223 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

a  wink  er  two  to  keep  a-goin'!"  said  Sair' 
Ann,  but  looking  delighted  at  the  compliment. 

"Have  you  got  that  ready  for  me?"  Sybil 
asked. 

Sair'  Ann's  turbaned  head  shook,  and  her 
voice  was  troubled.  "Yes,  lamb,  I'se  got  it 
ready.  But  I  ain't  so  sure  about  all  dis  yer 
takin's  an'  goin'  visitin's  withouten  de  Gun- 
nel's knowin'  of  it!" 

"He  does  know,"  said  Sybil.  "At  least,  he 
knows  I  go  there.  Why,  what's  the  matter?" 
For  the  old  negress  had  grasped  the  table  for 
support,  and  her  face  had  turned  a  peculiar, 
ashen  gray. 

"De  Gunnel  knows?  He  knows  you  go  to 
see "  she  gasped. 

"Yes,  he  does!  I  told  him,"  Sybil  replied. 
And  although  some  inner  voice  warned  her 
not  to  question  further,  she  pondered  it  all 
the  way  to  the  little  brown  house  in  the  woods. 
For  that  was  the  destination  of  her  early 
morning  ride.  She  carried  a  basket  of  good 
things,  a  share  of  everything  that  had  been 
served  at  supper  the  night  before,  except  of 
the  ices. 

"It  was  my  ball,  in  my  honor,  you  see,"  she 
exclaimed  to  the  Hermit,  as  he  helped  her 
224 


A   CHESAPEAKE   PICNIC 

remount  after  her  short  call,  "and  I  thought 
of  you  and  wished  you  were  there,  Mr.  John. 
That's  why  I  brought  you  some  of  my  goodies 
— my  own  goodies,  you  know!" 

The  old  man  looked  up  at  her,  and  smiled, 
wistfully.  "I  am  glad  you  remembered  me, 
Sybilla,"  he  said,  "and  I  shall  eat  every  crumb 
in  the  basket!  It's  a  bounty  no  one  could 
refuse !" 

But  Sybil  was  serious,  and  did  not  return 
his  smile.  "No,  it's  not  that  way  at  all,"  she 
said.  "Please  understand  what  I  mean,  Mr. 
John!  I  should  have  been  honored,  if  you 
had  been  one  of  my  guests !  You  will  honor 
me  just  the  same  by  being  my  guest  here!" 

The  Hermit's  face  showed  that  he  under- 
stood. "I  thank  you,  little  girl,"  he  said,  and 
stood  watching  her  until  Damascus  bore  her 
out  of  sight. 

But  for  a  while  her  visits  to  the  lonely  old 
man  were  of  necessity  few  and  far  between. 
Glorious  days,  indeed,  followed  the  wonder- 
ful ball.  For  the  first  time  in  years  the  old 
white  house  rang  to  the  echo  with  the  laugh- 
ter and  chatter  of  young  people.  The  Colonel 
was  never  so  happy,  never  so  agreeable;  he 
had  all  but  forgotten  how  to  roar!  He  was 
225 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

polite  to  everyone,  even  to  the  boys,  as  he 
persisted  in  calling  Donald  and  Jack  and  the 
other  young  men  who  made  the  most  of  every 
opportunity  to  try  the  softness  of  the  Monte- 
bello  front  steps.  But  of  all  the  good  times, 
the  best  were  those  which  the  two  house- 
holds of  Montebello  and  Montford  enjoyed 
together,  without  other  guests. 

"Yonder's  de  fo'th  choc'late  cake  I'se  baked 
sence  Sat'day,"  Aunt  Sair'  Ann  announced  to 
Shem,  as  she  wielded  her  broad-bladed  knife 
for  the  crowning  flourishes  to  the  rich  brown 
icipg.  "And  I  ain't  got  but  four  o'  de  nine- 
teen chickens  left,  what  Torm  cooped  up  last 
week.  An'  all  ma  strawbe'y  jam,  what  I  put 
up  for  de  winter,  it's  done  gone,  all  'ceptin' 
two  dozen  glasses !  An'  I  wisht'  everything 
in  the  house  was  et  up,  if  by  so  bein'  dese 
chillen  could  be  kept  here  for  de  res'  o'  my 
mortual  life!" 

Shem  paused  in  the  doorway.  "Ye-ah! 
Now  you  talkin' !  I  ain't  hear  de  Cunnel  laugh 
so  much,  not  sence  he  was  a  little  boy,  when 
he  an'  Marse  John " 

He  had  to  dodge  a  well-aimed  muffin 
thrown  by  Aunt  Sair'  Ann.  "Get  outen 
here !"  she  cried.  "You  get  outen  ma  kitchen, 
226 


A   CHESAPEAKE   PICNIC 

talkin'  'bout  what  ain't  yo'  business! 
You " 

Shem  vanished,  to  finish  buttering  the  bread 
for  the  long-discussed  picnic  on  the  water. 

For  Molly's  project  was  about  to  become  a 
reality;  and  the  surprise  and  disgust  of  the 
twins  had  been  great,  when,  the  evening  be- 
fore, the  menu  for  the  lunch-basket  had  been 
discussed. 

"I  am  sure  Cousin  Sophia  will  let  us  have 
anything  we  want,"  Sybil  said,  while  Bobs 
grinned  at  Donald  in  anticipation  of  the  good 
things  coming. 

"In  my  young  days,"  said  the  Colonel,  as 
well  as  he  could,  while  Roberta  balanced  on 
one  arm  of  his  chair  and  Bunny  on  the  other, 
"in  my  young  days  we  used  to  take  bread 
and  butter,  and  some  pepper  and  salt,  and  fare 
very  well  indeed!" 

Molly  laughed.  "That's  just  what  we're 
going  to  do  now,  sir,"  she  told  him.  "Do 
change  your  mind  and  come  with  us!" 

But   the   old    gentleman    shook   his    head. 

"No,  no!     I  seem  to  have  lost  my  taste  for 

gallivanting  around  on  the  Bay,  and  a  crab 

on  my  table's  a  good  deal  better  than  one 

227 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

from  a  camp-fire,  nowadays.  I  reckon  I'll 
leave  you  young  people  to  Uncle  Frank." 

Abundance  could  not  keep  quiet  another 
minute.  "Oh,  but  that's  not  all  we're  going 
to  have  to  eat,  is  it?  Why,  on  the  Fourth 
of  July  picnics  at  home  we  have " 

"Bunny!"  Sybil  protested. 

But  Roberta  could  always  be  counted  upon 
to  back  up  her  twin.  "Chocolate  cake  and  pie 
and  loads  and  loads  of  sandwiches  and  water- 
melon and  ginger-pop " 

At  that  point  Donald,  who  was  sitting  on 
the  steps,  administered  a  silencing  pinch. 

"I  suppose  you'll  run  up  to  Pine  Knoll," 
the  Colonel  said,  reminiscently.  "That  used 
to  be  the  place  for  the  camp-fire!" 

"Yes,  sir;  and  we'll  get  the  oysters  from 
Cousin  Todd  Calvert's  bed ;  he  never  minds." 

"Oysters !  Why,  this  is  July,  and  there  isn't 
any  R  in  it!  How  can  you  eat  oysters  when 
there  isn't  any  R  ?"  cried  Bobs. 

The  three  natives  of  Maryland  laughed,  and 
the  Colonel,  to  whom  the  twins  were  a  con- 
stant delight,  said: 

"Uncle  Frank  will  show  you  how  to  eat 
oysters  without  an  R,  young  lady  I"  and  Bobs 
228 


A  CHESAPEAKE   PICNIC 

hugged  him;  she  did  so  adore  being  called 
"young  lady!" 

When  the  baskets  were  ready,  and  the  twins 
had  bothered  Aunt  Sair'  Ann  and  Jinny  and 
Shem  almost  out  of  their  wits,  and  danced 
around  the  Colonel  with  questions  and  ex- 
clamations until  the  old  gentleman  had  to  hold 
his  hands  over  his  ears,  and  they  were  off, 
at  last,  in  the  farm  wagon  driven  by  Torm, 
Miss  Sophia  sighed,  and  said: 

"Dear  me.  Brother!  I  had  quite  forgotten 
that  young  people  were — were  quite  like 
that!" 

But  the  Colonel,  broadly  smiling,  was  too 
contented  with  the  vigorous  present  to  look 
back  upon  the  past. 

"I  hope  none  of  'em  will  fall  overboard," 
he  remarked. 

"Oh!"  cried  Miss  Sophia,  and  began  to 
wring  her  hands.  "Oh,  Brother!  Do  you 
really  suppose  any  of  them  will?" 

The  old  gentleman  faced  about,  apparently 
on  the  verge  of  an  explosion ;  but,  instead,  he 
patted  her  kindly  on  the  shoulder. 

"There,  there,  Sophia!"  he  said,  smiling. 
"Do  try  to  behave  like  a  sensible  woman! 
229 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

If  I  really  anticipated  anything  of  the  sort, 
I'd  have  gone  with  'em  myself!" 

Perhaps  the  old  gentleman  rather  wished 
he  had  gone,  for  he  wandered  about  the 
house,  down  to  the  stables,  aimlessly,  rest- 
lessly, all  day  long,  until  it  was  time  to  drive 
over  to  Fordham  to  bring  them  back. 

And  he  might  well  have  wished  it,  for  such 
a  good  time  they  had!  From  the  moment 
they  came  in  sight  of  the  little  private  wharf 
at  the  foot  of  the  orchard  cliff,  they  were  all 
excitement,  Donald  came  forward  to  help 
Sybil,  and  was  rather  dignified  for  an  hour 
afterward  because  Jack  Rutherford  got  there 
first;  except  for  that,  everything  went 
splendidly. 

The  little  Blue  Wing  was  a  miniature  oys- 
terman's  canoe,  roomy  and  swift,  with  a  tiny 
makeshift  of  a  cabin,  and,  at  the  moment, 
without  masts. 

"Who's  going  to  row?"  Bobs  demanded  as 
she  jumped  aboard.    "Let  me  help !" 

The  old  negro  who  was  bending  over  a 

heap  of  canvas  looked  up  with  a  grin.    "Jest 

you  wait  twell  we  gits  de  mast  sot  up,  Miss, 

an'  you  won't  have  to  specurate  on  who's  to 

230 


A   CHESAPEAKE   PICNIC 

do  de  rowin'l  Dis  yer's  de  fastest  canoe 
on  de  Bay!" 

"That's  right,  Uncle  Frank!  You  stand 
up  for  the  Blue  Wing!"  Jack  called  out, 
laughingly,  as  he  helped  to  ship  the  mast.  The 
management  of  the  little  craft  was  too  novel 
to  Donald  for  him  to  be  able  to  do  much  of 
anything;  so  he  sat  in  the  stern,  his  hand 
on  the  tiller,  obeying  Uncle  Frank's  directions, 
with  Sybil  and  Molly  changing  sides  as  the 
boat  tacked. 

"Ef  you  young  ladies  will  jest  perch  up 
dar  on  de  gun'le,"  Uncle  Frank  requested, 
"when  she  yearns  over  to'rds  de  water,  for 
ballast  like,  I'll  be  much  obleeged  to  ye !  An' 
Marse  Jack,  honey,  you  shove  dat  centerbo'd 
'way  down,  so  she  won't  slide  off,  an'  we'll 
see  some  sailin' !" 

So  to  the  great  delight  of  the  twins  the 
four  girls,  and  frequently  Jack,  had  to  line 
up  on  the  gunwale  of  the  boat,  while  the 
Blue  Wing  skimmed  over  the  water,  past  the 
mouth  of  Cherrypit  Creek,  and  on  down  the 
Bay. 

Beside  the  low  shores  they  slipped  along, 
where  sometimes  peach-orchards  ran  down  to 
231 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

the  water,  sometimes  fields  of  green  corn,  and 
more  often  a  growth  of  pine. 

"There's  the  Hermit's  house,  Don,"  said 
Sybil,  pointing  to  it,  as  they  passed  the  place 
where  the  little  brown  cottage  seemed  to  be 
hiding  among  the  pines.  Then  she  waved,  for 
her  keen  eyes  made  out  a  figure  on  the  little 
bench  among  the  bushes. 

The  twins  cried  in  unison.  "Hermit  ?  Her- 
mit? Where's  the  Hermit?  Oh,  Syb!  Take 
us  to  see  the  Hermit !" 

"Indeed  I  shall  not,"  Sybil  declared. 

"Oh!  A  Hermit!  Isn't  there  a  mystery, 
too?"  cried  Bobs. 

They  both  wiggled  about  on  the  edge  of 
the  boat  until  Uncle  Frank  called  out,  in  his 
slow  drawl: 

"'Deed,  Miss  Bunny,  'deed,  Miss  Bobby, 
ef  you-all  don't  stop  a-wigglin'  an'  a-turnin' 
an'  a-twistin'  up  dar,  you  sholy  will  be  likely 
to  fall  outen  dis  yer  boat  into  de  water  an' 
git  drownded!" 

The  accident  might  have  happened  a  dozen 
times  while  he  was  drawling  his  warning! 
Molly  and  Sybil  laughed,  and  Jack  crossed 
over  to  sit  between  the  twins,  in  case  of 
trouble. 

232 


A   CHESAPEAKE   PICNIC 

The  talk  went  on  about  the  Hermit,  to  the 
delight  of  the  frisky  pair,  and  then  about  the 
houses  they  passed. 

Presently  Jack  Rutherford  said,  "There's 
Cousin  Todd's  barn,  Uncle  Frank!  Time  to 
get  out  the  tongs  ?" 

"No,  sir,"  said  Uncle  Frank,  "  'tain't  time 
to  get  out  de  tongs  twell  somebody's  hongry  I" 

At  that,  as  Frank's  grin  plainly  showed  he 
was  expecting,  the  twins  nearly  fell  overboard 
again. 

"Oh,  hi-yi!  Reckon  dey  is  somebody  hon- 
gry!" the  old  man  said,  disappearing  within 
the  little  cabin.  When  he  emerged  he  dragged 
out  with  him  a  curious  iron  implement  and 
some  coils  of  rope  and  clanking  chain. 

"Let  me  steer,  Donald,  so  you  can  share 
the  fun,"  said  Molly;  and  the  boys  helped 
Uncle  Frank  throw  the  tongs  over  the  stern. 

"Mercy!  That's  funny  fishing!"  Bobs  re- 
marked. 

Just  then  the  "fish"  came  aboard — the  great 
iron  fingers  of  the  tongs  clasped  about  a 
mass  of  dripping  oyster-shells. 

"There,  you  two,"  said  Jack,  as  the  tongs 
went  overboard  again,  "that  the  way  we  get 
oysters  without  an  R !" 
233 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Seven  and  eight  times  the  tongs  were 
dropped,  until  at  last  Uncle  Frank  remarked : 

"I  reckon  we-all  better  leave  Marse  Todd 
some  oysters  f o'  next  winter !  Put  her  about, 
Miss  Molly,  please.  Miss !" 

To  the  further  surprise  of  the  four  from 
the  north,  Molly  headed  the  Blue  Wing  into 
a  sheltered  miniature  of  a  bay,  where  the 
woods  came  down  to  the  shore,  and  the  level 
of  the  land  was  only  a  few  feet  above  the 
water.  When  she  had  sailed  so  close  that  the 
bow  almost  touched  the  overhanging  grass, 
Jack  called  out: 

"Well  done,  Molly!  Ease  up  the  sheet, 
Uncle  Frank!"  and  sprang  ashore  with  a 
painter  which  he  proceeded  to  make  fast  to 
the  trunk  of  a  tree. 

"Goodness!  Is  this  where  we  get  off? 
What  station  is  this?"  cried  Bobs  the  irre- 
pressible. 

"Oh,  I  never  can  jump  across  that  water!" 
exclaimed  Abundance,  when  she  saw  Jack's 
agile  leap  ashore. 

The  others  laughed.  "You  won't  have  to," 
Molly  assured  her. 

She  was  busy  opening  the  baskets;  and 
from  one,  the  wide-eyed  twins  watching  every 
234 


A   CHESAPEAKE   PICNIC 

movement,  she  took  out  a  ham-bone  and  the 
end  of  a  roast.  When  she  had  further  pro- 
duced a  long-handled  net,  and  tied  the  bones 
to  stout  pieces  of  string,  she  tossed  them 
overboard  and  .handed  the  ends  to  the  twins. 

"Here !  Now  you  two  can  fish,  while  Sybil 
and  I  get  the  rest  of  the  luncheon  ready !" 

But  the  twins  looked  indignant.  "Why 
don't  you  give  us  bent  pins?"  asked  Bunny, 
eyeing  the  dangling  bones;  and  Bobs  re- 
marked : 

"She  wants   us  to  fish  for  whales.   Bun! 

"Little  Bobby  went  a-fishing, 
Went  a-fishing  for  a  whale, 
And  all  the  water  she  could  get 
Was  in — 

"was  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay." 

But  Sybil  had  been  long  enough  near  the 
Chesapeake  to  understand.  "It's  crabs,  you 
geese!"  she  said,  as  well  as  she  could  for 
laughing.  "Toss  your  bait  overboard,  and 
the  crabs  will  take  hold;  then  you  land  them 
with  that  net.     See?" 

In  an  instant  the  two  were  hanging  over 
the  edge  of  the  boat,  and  in  another  a  shriek 
from  Abundance  announced  the  first  catch. 
235 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Meanwhile,  Donald  and  Jack  had  been 
gathering  dried  sticks  ashore,  and  Uncle 
Frank  had  a  lively  fire  going;  then  he  "toted 
dem  oysters  ashore,"  as  he  expressed  it,  and 
was  soon  roasting  them,  in  their  shells,  among 
the  red  embers.  Sybil  and  Molly  were  un- 
packing the  sandwiches,  a  crock  of  fresh 
butter,  and  the  little  boxes  of  salt  and  pepper; 
and  by  the  time  the  twins  had  filled  a  large 
basket  with  lively  blue  crabs,  Uncle  Frank 
announced  that  the  first  course  was  ready. 

Never  had  anything  tasted  so  good!  The 
young  people  sat  in  a  row  on  the  edge  of  the 
boat,  their  feet  dangling  over,  while  Frank 
passed  along  the  opened  oyster  shells,  each 
with  its  delicious  contents  roasted  to  a  turn, 
and  floating  in  melted  butter.  It  is  best  not 
to  say  what  they  used  as  knives  and  forks,  for 
the  usual  implements  had  been  forgotten. 

When  the  last  oyster  had  disappeared,  the 
crabs,  partly  roasted  and  partly  steamed  under 
a  wet  "gunny-sack,"  were  also  ready  to  be 
passed  along  by  Uncle  Frank,  to  be  accom- 
panied with  bread-and-butter  and  some  of 
Clarissy's  famous  pickles. 

Then,  as  a  final  course  to  the  most  remark- 
able meal  any  of  the  Crawfords  had  ever 
236 


A  CHESAPEAKE   PICNIC* 

tasted,  they  all  went  ashore,  and  each  gath- 
ered his  own  blackberries  for  dessert,  simply 
eating  from  the  bushes  until  they  had  had 
enough ! 

Bunny  was  the  last  of  the  young  people 
to  go  back  to  the  boat.  She  stood  on  the 
edge  of  the  shore,  looking  at  the  few  feet  of 
water  that  she  must  jump;  then  she  shook 
her  head,  and  said: 

"It's  no  use !  I  thought  I  couldn't  jump  it 
before  I  ate  those  five  crabs;  but  there's  no 
thinking  about  it,  now !  I  guess  I'll  have  to 
let  you  maroon  me  on  this  desert  isle !" 

But  before  the  others  were  done  laughing 
there  was  a  little  shriek  from  Bunny!  Old 
Uncle  Frank,  still  able  to  do  his  day's  work 
and  more,  had  stepped  into  the  water,  taken 
her  up  as  lightly  as  if  she  were  a  doll,  and 
deposited  her  in  the  boat ! 

"I'se  done  hefted  more  pounds  than  you, 
Miss  Bunny!"  he  said,  grinning. 

And  as  he  pushed  the  boat  off  from  shore 
and  scrambled  aboard,  Molly  cried: 

"Oh,  that  reminds  me.  Uncle  Frank!  I 
promised  Miss  Sybil  you  would  sing  her  'Lord 
Lovell'l" 

Uncle  Frank  ducked  his  head  bashfully. 
237 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"Aw  now,   Miss   Molly,  ain't  nobody  gwine 
listen  to  a  ol'  nigger  sing !"  he  protested. 

"Why,  Uncle  Frank,  I've  been  looking  for- 
ward to  hearing  you  for  months!"  Sybil  de- 
clared. 

And  Donald  added,  seriously,  "Why,  Uncle 
Frank,  that's  the  principal  reason  I  came 
down  here — to  hear  you  sing!" 

The  old  man  looked  delighted.  "Sho'  now ! 
You  don'  say  so !" 

"Fact,"  said  Donald.    "Isn't  that  so.  Jack?" 

"It  certainly  is,"  Jack  agreed,  with  equal 
seriousness.  "I  told  him  up  north,  where  we 
were  at  college.  Uncle  Frank,  that  you'd  sing 
him  'Lord  Lovell'  and  tell  us  about  the  hidden 
treasure;  so  he  came!" 

"Oh!  Oh— eeeee!"  squealed  Bobs.  "I 
want  the  hidden  treasure  first!" 

The  old  negro  looked  very  much  impressed, 
and  solemnly,  and  without  a  trace  of  self-con- 
sciousness, began : 

"Well,  sir,  Marse  Jack,  you  put  de  Blue 
Wing  on  de  long  tack  to'ds  de  other  sho'; 
and  Miss  Bunny,  please,  Miss,  don't  set  out 
so  fur  over  de  water,  honey!  Well,  about  de 
hidden,  treasure " 

"Was  it  a  real  treasure?"  asked  Bunny. 
238 


A   CHESAPEAKE    PICNIC 

"Hit  sho'  was !  Ain't  dat  what  I'm  tellin' 
you  ?  Hyar's  de  way  hit  come  about.  Me  an' 
my  brother,  we  belonged  to  Marse  Jo  Ruther- 
ford, a  cousin  o'  de  Major's,  over  to  Black- 
water,  an'  when  de  War  come  along,  an'  dey 
was  talk  about  de  soldiers  a-comin',  we-all 
buried  our  silver,  cause  de  soldiers  what  was 
a-comin'  was  Yankees.  I  was  de  house  boy, 
an'  my  brother,  he  was  de  dinin'-room  boy; 
an'  we  went  out  with  Miss  Sally  one  dark  o' 
de  moon,  an'  dug  a  hole  in  de  gyardin,  an' 
buried  all  de  silver.  Yessir,  we  even  buried 
Marse  Jo's  christenin'  mug,  an'  de  baby's 
spoon;  'cause  we  didn't  want  de  Yankees  to 
git  'em. 

"Well,  sir,  de  soldiers  didn't  come  down 
dat  away,  after  all,  an'  we  needn't'a  buried 
de  silver.  But  all  de  niggers,  'ceptin'  me  an' 
my  mammy  an'  brother,  run  away,  an'  after 
a  while  Marse  Jo  got  killed ;  an'  Marse  Tom, 
his  youngest  brother,  he  got  killed;  an*  Miss 
Sally  took  de  baby  an'  me  an'  my  mammy,  an' 
come  over  hyar  to  Cherrypit.  An'  de  baby, 
she  growed  up  an'  got  married,  an'  Miss  Sally 
went  up  north  with  her ;  an'  my  mammy  died, 

an'  my  brother  died " 

239 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"Mercy !  What  a  lot  of  funerals  you  must 
have  had!"  put  in  Bobs. 

"Yes,  Miss!"  Uncle  Frank  agreed,  de- 
murely. "Well,  de  years  went  along,  like  dey 
do,  some  lively's  a  circus  in  de  spring-time, 
some  slow's  a  mud-tarrapin.  And  one  No- 
vember a  gre't  big  tall  black  man  come  along, 
an'  says  he's  a  diviner," 

"Diviner  of  what?"  asked  Molly. 

"I  don't  know.  Miss !  Jest  a  kind  o'  gin'ral 
diviner,  I  reckon.  He  told  eve'ybody  around 
hyar  how  he  could  divine  whar  treasure  was 
buried.  I  didn't  pay  any  attention  to  sech 
talk,  twell  one  night  he  come  to  me,  an'  say 
as  how  he  could  lead  me  to  buried  treasure, 
an'  if  I'd  do  de  diggin'  he'd  give  me  half. 
Well,  sir,  I  was  settin'  up  to  Melissey  Lou 
about  dat  time,  an'  I  was  jest  a  hankerin'  for 
a  tall  silk  hat  an'  a  long-tailed  coat;  so  half 
o'  the  buried  treasure  sounded  rale  good  to 
dis  nigger.  I  told  him  I'd  sho  do  all  de  diggin' 
he  wanted ;  an'  one  night  we  sot  of!  to  find  de 
place. 

"Dat   diviner    had    a    rale    smart    pair    o' 

mewels,  dat  could  trot  as  fast  as  anything  in 

de  country,   'ceptin'   some  o'  de  gen'lemens' 

drivin'  horses;  an'  we  drove  an'  we  drove, 

240 


A   CHESAPEAKE   PICNIC 

twell  it  seemed  to  me  we  must  be  gettin'  as 
fur  away  from  de  Major's  as  ever  I'd  been. 
We  jest  jounced  along,  bumpitty  bump,  up 
hill  an'  down  dale,  wid  things  a-rattlin'  in 
de  wagon  behind  us.  It  was  awful  dark  an' 
quair  an'  lonesome,  an'  I  says  to  de  diviner, 
I  say,  'What's  dat  a-rattlin'?'  An'  he  make 
me  de  answer.  'Dat's  jest  some  skulls  an' 
some  bones  I  got  in  de  wagon !'  Land !  I 
jest  felt  de  shivers  runnin'  up  an'  down  my 
back !  I  says,  'I  didn't  see  no  skulls  an'  bones 
in  de  wagon !'  An'  he  makes  me  de  answer, 
'Maybe  you  didn't !'  " 

"O-oo-o-o-oh !"  breathed  the  twins,  in  a 
long  breath  of  ecstasy. 

Uncle  Frank  shook  his  head  up  and  down. 
"Um-hum!  An'  dat  ain't  all!  Whiles  we 
was  a-jouncin'  an'  a-bouncin'  through  a  black, 
deep  forest,  some'n'  switched  me  on  de  cheek, 
an'  I  squeals  out,  an'  says,  'Ouch!  Wat's 
dat?'    An'  w'at  you  reckon  dat  diviner  say?" 

"What?"  the  twins  besought  him. 

"Well,  sir,  dat  diviner  make  me  de  answer, 
'Dat  ain't  nothin'  to  hurt  you!  I  won't  let 
my  flyin'  black  cats  an'  my  tame  screech  owls 
tech  you!     Um-hum!" 

"O-o-oh!"  sighed  the  twins. 
241 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"Well,  sir,  after  a  while  we  got  to  a  place 
whar  de  ground  was  kinder  cleared  out,  with 
only  a  few  little  bushes  settin'  about.  De 
diviner,  he  got  outen  de  wagon,  an'  me  after 
him.  He  looks  around,  an'  he  say,  'Frank, 
now  you  look  all  around  you !  Does  dis  place 
remind  you  of  anything?'  So  I  looks  all 
around,  an'  bimeby  I  say,  'Ef  dem  bushes 
was  a  little  lower,  an'  ef  dey  was  any  little 
paths  runnin'  in  an'  out,  maybe  'twould  re- 
min'  me  o'  Miss  Sally's  gyardin  what  we-all 
left  durin'  de  War/ 

"An'  Mr.  Diviner,  he  put  a  spade  in  my 
hand,  an'  he  say,  'Now  you  jest  walk  aroun' 
dis  place  what  reminds  you  o'  Miss  Sally's 
gyardin,  an'  when  you  feels  called  on  to  dig, 
you  dig!' 

"An'  he  sot  down  on  de  ground,  an'  begun 
to  mumble.  I  never  did  take  much  to  mum- 
blin',  'specially  in  de  dark  o'  de  moon ;  so 
I  walks  aroun',  an'  de  more  I  walks  de  more 
it  reminds  me  o'  Miss  Sally's  little  gyardin 
whar  we  buried  de  silver.  Bimeby  I  comes 
to  a  big  bush  wid  red  berries  on  it,  an'  I 
says  to  myself,  'Ef  dat  was  only  about  half 
as  tall,  it  might  be  de  ve'y  bush  what  we 
buried  de  silver  under!'  An'  first  thing  I 
242 


A   CHESAPEAKE   PICNIC 

know,  I  had  de  spade  in  de  ground  a-diggin' ! 

"I  had  a  rale  big  hole  dug,  an'  I  stops  to 
rest  me  a  little  mite,  when  I  heard  somethin' 
behind  me  a-rattlin'.  'What's  dat?'  I  says. 
An'  de  diviner  makes  me  de  answer,  'Dat 
ain't  nothin'  to  hurt  you.  My  skulls  an'  bones 
always  rattles  dat  away,  whenever  anybody's 
diggin'  an'  stops !'  So  to  please  de  skulls  an' 
de  bones  I  reckoned  I  better  begin  to  dig 
again.  An'  every  time  I  stop  to  rest,  dey 
begin  to  rattle  some  mo',  so  I  jest  kept  on 
diggin',  so's  to  keep  'em  satisfied. 

"An'  after  a  while,  my  spade  his  some'n' 
in  de  hole,  an'  made  a  noise  like  two  knives 
a-screechin  against  each  other;  an'  some'n' 
flew  past  my  face  an'  whopped  me.  I  calls 
out,  'Who  hittin'  my  face  ?    You  stop  it !' 

"But  de  diviner  say,  'I  wouldn't  talk  to  'em 
like  dat  ef  I  was  you!  My  flyin'  black  cats 
an'  my  pet  screech-owls  is  rale  tame,  but 
dey  might  git  mad  an'  beyon'  my  control!' 
An'  as  de  skulls  and  de  bones  was  rattlin' 
rale  lively  at  de  time,  I  went  on  diggin',  but 
I  could  jest  feel  de  flesh  a-walkin'  up  an' 
down  my  spine!  Yessir!  It  wasn't  a-creep- 
in' !     It  was  Si-stompin' ! 

"An'  den,  all  of  a  sudden,  seem  like  some'n' 

243 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

must  aroused  all  de  tame  screech-owls  an' 
de  flyin'  black  cats  an'  de  skulls  an'  de  bones, 
'cause  dey  let  out  de  most  awful  screech  ever 
I  hyar  in  all  my  life.  My  spade  had  jest  done 
dug  up  some'n'  or  other,  but,  honey,  old  Frank 
didn't  wait  to  see  what  it  was!  I  jest  lit  out, 
an'  I  run  an'  I  run,  an'  I  run  an'  I  run,  twell 
I  foun'  myself  nigh  over  to  Cherrypit  again! 
Yessir !" 

"Oh!  O-o-o  oo-o-oh!  What  was  it?" 
asked  Bobs.  Bunny,  apparently,  was  too 
overcome  for  speech. 

Donald  and  Jack  were  broadly  grinning, 
and  Sybil's  eyes  and  Molly's  were  dancing 
with  merriment;  but  old  Frank  was  utterly 
serious,  and  the  twins  were  tense  with  excite- 
ment. 

"Wat  it  was?"  Uncle  Frank  repeated. 
"W'at  it  was?  How  you  reckon  I  know  w'at 
it  was?  You  reckon  ol'  Frank  stay  dar  to 
fin'  out  w'at  it  was!  No,  siree!  Not  ol' 
Frank ! 

"I  done  tol'  de  Major  all  about  it,  next 
mornin',  an'  he  had  de  three-year-olds  hitched 
up  to  de  buggy  right  away,  an'  him  an'  me 
drove  over  to  Miss  Sally's  ol'  place  over  to 
Blackwater.  We  got  down  outen  de  buggy 
244 


A   CHESAPEAKE   PICNIC 

an*  went  back  to  de  gyardin,  an'  'twas  all 
grown  up,  an'  dere  wasn't  any  paths  like  dey 
used  to  be.  But  down  in  de  cornder  whar 
Miss  Sally  an'  my  brother  an'  me  buried  de 
silver  was  a  grea-a-at  big  ho-o-ole,  like  some- 
body been  a-diggin' ! 

"  'Dere,  Frank,'  says  de  Major,  'now  you 
see  what  you  done,  you  ol'  fool!  You  dug 
up  Miss  Sally's  silver  for  dat  black  rascal  to 
tote  away!'  But  I  says,  'No,  sir.  Major!  I 
nuvver  dug  dat  hole!  Look  down  yonder. 
Major — yonder 's  de  marks  ob  claws!" 

"Oh!"  Bunny  exclaimed,  with  a  long 
breath.  "And  what  made  the  marks  of 
claws  ?" 

"What  made  'em?"  Uncle  Frank  repeated. 
"Ain't  flyin'  black  cats  got  claws  ?  Ain't  tame 
screech-owls  got  claws?  Huh?  Answer  me 
dat!" 

That  evening,  the  twins  repeated  the  story 
as  well  as  they  could  to  the  company  assem- 
bled on  the  Fordham  piazza.  When  they 
ended,  with  their  evident  belief  in  the  tame 
screech-owls  and  the  flying  black  cats,  every- 
one there  shouted  with  laughter. 

"Did  that  old  darkey  really  dig  up  Sally's 
lost  silver,  Tom?"  the  Colonel  asked,  wiping 
245 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

away  the  tears,  when  he  could  laugh  no 
longer. 

"I  reckon  he  did,  William,"  Mr.  Ruther- 
ford replied.  "I  found  out  afterward  that 
the  'diviner'  was  born  on  Sally's  place,  and 
was  one  of  the  negroes  who  left  in  war-time. 
He  knew  he  had  only  to  play  on  old  Frank's 
simplicity  and  superstition.  I  reckon  he  really 
got  the  silver,  for  he  was  never  seen  around 
here  again." 

But  the  twins  would  not  have  it  that  way, 
and  Sybil  backed  them  up  in  their  protests. 
"Oh,  let  us  have  it  a  mystery,"  she  cried. 
"We  want  to  believe  it  a  mystery,  don't  we, 
girls?  And  I  do  so  love  the  flying  black  cats 
and  tame  screech-owls !" 

And  when  the  Colonel  finally  drove  home 
with  his  three  guests.  Bunny  and  Bobs  were 
singing,  at  the  tops  of  their  excited  voices, 
the  final  words  of  old  Frank's  famous  ballad : 

And  out  of  her  grave  there  grew  a  red  rose. 
And  out  of  Lord  Lovell's  a  brier,  rier,  rier. 
And  out  of  Lord  Lovell's  a  brier! 


XVI 
JACK 

SUMMER  in  the  Chesapeake  country  is  a 
radiant  succession  of  glowing  days  and 
fragrant  nights.  Small  wonder  is  it  that  the 
first  Lord  Baron  of  Baltimore,  sailing  north- 
ward on  a  pleasure  voyage  with  his  hosts  of 
the  young  Colony  of  Virginia,  should  have 
coveted  those  sun-kissed  shores  and  breeze- 
swept  waters;  small  wonder,  too,  that  once 
his  own  by  virtue  of  a  kingly  gift,  he  should 
have  deemed  that  lovely  province  worthy  to 
bear  the  name  of  the  beautiful  queen  of  his 
benefactor.  Yet  even  the  rosiest  dreams  of 
Baron  Baltimore  could  not  have  disclosed  the 
beauty  of  the  present.  Even  to  the  utmost 
glory  of  nature  something  is  added  by  the 
loving  touch  of  man ;  along  these  shores  gen- 
erations of  men  and  women  have  been  born, 
have  loved  and  worked,  have  lived  and  died, 
and  the  face  of  the  land  bears  testimony  of 
247 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

it.  Vine-grown  churches  of  stone,  white- 
pillared  court-houses,  homes  stately  and  beau- 
tiful— these  are  the  jewels  placed  here  by  man 
in  nature's  setting.  And  over  it  all  there 
hangs  a  charm  like  the  charm  of  old  laces  laid 
away  by  hands  long  dead,  like  the  scent  of 
lavender  in  an  old  chest,  Hke  the  pathos  of  the 
faded  ribbon  that  binds  a  bundle  of  yellowed 
love-letters.  It  is  a  country,  too,  where  things 
ripen  early,  from  the  fruits  of  the  fields  to 
the  emotions  of  the  human  heart.  Old  tales 
are  still  told  there  of  ante-bellum  romance,  of 
lovely  girls  clustering  in  wide  white  skirts 
on  the  broad  verandas,  and  gallant  youths 
— sometimes  a  trifle  wild — who  courted  them 
with  songs  and  dances  and  lace-bordered  bou- 
quets, and  sighs  and  serenades.  Age  which 
recounts  and  youth  which  listens  to  these  tales 
is  apt  to  forget  that  the  moon  is  not  always 
at  the  full,  that  roses  and  jasmine  are  not 
always  in  bloom.  But  what  matter?  History 
is  never  made ;  life  goes  on,  and  love ! 

To  the  young  Crawfords  and  the  friends 
they  made  in  Maryland,  what  a  wonderful 
summer  it  was!  How  full  were  the  days, 
how  beautiful  the  nights!  What  good  times 
there  were,  what  rides  and  drives,  what 
248 


JACK 

gaiety  on  the  water,  what  dances  and  moon- 
Hght  tete-a-tetes !  Their  elders  saw  to  it  that 
their  days  were  care-free ;  and  those  outside 
of  Montebello,  touched  by  the  old  Colonel's 
return  to  the  neighborhood  life,  wishing  to 
show  their  appreciation  of  his  courageous 
effort,  glad  to  do  it  in  the  way  he  must  have 
preferred,  did  all  they  could  for  his  three 
guests.  If  the  twins  were  soon  known  as 
the  life  of  the  neighborhood,  it  was  Sybil,  of 
course,  about  whom  things  were  centered. 
It  was  she  for  whom  the  parties  were  given, 
as  much  for  the  sake  of  her  own  charm  as 
because  the  Colonel  so  evidently  held  her  dear. 
If  people  wondered  not  a  little  at  the  coinci- 
dence of  her  name,  they  were  well-mannered, 
and  their  good  breeding  was  emphasized, 
especially  on  that  subject,  by  their  kindness 
of  heart.  Sybil  herself,  and  her  intimate 
friends,  Molly  and  Donald  and  Jack,  knew 
and  admitted  that  there  was  something  in  the 
courtesy  of  the  older  people  toward  herself, 
or  toward  the  Colonel,  or  toward  the  state 
of  things  at  Montebello,  which  they  could 
not  understand.  Yet  not  even  Molly  found 
it  possible  to  question  her  grandfather  on 
that  subject.  Plainly  it  was  something  which 
249 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

was  not  to  be  spoken  of.  Three  old  people 
had  lived  for  years  on  the  estate  of  Monte- 
bello,  either  shutting  themselves  off  from  the 
world  or  having  its  doors  closed  to  them; 
then,  at  the  coming  of  a  young  girl  who  bore 
a  well-remembered  name,  two  of  them  came 
out  of  their  retirement,  and  at  a  touch  the 
door  of  their  world  had  swung  wide  open. 
It  was  indeed  beyond  the  understanding  of  the 
young  people,  a  page  which  they  could  not 
read — strange,  strange. 

More  and  more,  as  the  summer  weeks 
passed,  were  the  two  households  of  Fordham 
and  Montebello  drawn  together. 

"What's  the  matter  with  you,  young 
woman  ?"  the  Colonel  asked  Roberta,  one  day, 
when  he  found  her  sitting  quite  alone  in  the 
middle  of  the  largest  sofa  in  the  front  draw- 
ing-room. 

"I'm  communing,"  said  Bobs,  soberly. 

"Eh?"  said  the  Colonel,  stepping  inside  the 
door,  and  looking  around  the  room  for  Abun- 
dance. "What's  that?  Some  new  game? 
Eh?" 

"No,  sir.  It's — it's — I  think  it's  a  very 
good  thing  for  everybody  to  commune  in 
250 


JACK 

secret  with  their  own  souls  for  a  short  while 
every  day." 

The  Colonel  nearly  choked  over  a  desire  to 
laugh.  "Oh,  pardon  me,"  he  said.  "I  would 
not  for  worlds  intrude,"  and  went  out  into 
the  hall  again  with  the  step  a  person  uses  on 
leaving  the  quiet  of  an  empty  church. 

Shaking  his  head,  as  if  to  say  that  the  way 
of  the  twins  was  beyond  him,  he  went  into 
his  library,  for  Sybil  was  riding  with  Donald 
and  the  Rutherfords,  and  whenever  she  was 
away  the  Colonel  had  an  undefined  sense  of 
loneliness,  which  showed  itself  in  restlessness. 

But  strange  sounds  checked  his  advance. 
Abundance  was  curled  up  in  his  big  wing- 
chair  by  the  window,  her  feet  tucked  com- 
fortably under  her,  a  large  volume  upon  her 
knees.  She  looked  up  at  him  with  traces  of 
tears  on  her  face. 

"Now  bless  my  soul!"  the  Colonel  ex- 
claimed.   "And  what's  the  matter  with  you?" 

Bunny's  eyes  were  dewy,  and  she  spoke 
"with  quivering  lips.  "It's — nothing!  I — 
w-was  just — reading — about  the — 1-lily  maid 
— and  it  always  makes  me " 

Her  head  went  down  again  over  her  book, 
and  the  Colonel's  hand  went  up  to  his  mouth. 
251 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"I  j-just — love  it — don't  you? — where — 
where — 'the  meats  became  as  wormwood' — 
and  —  where  —  oh !  —  where  —  'groaned  Sir 
L-launcelot — in — r-remorseful  pain !'  I  think 
there's  quite  a  good  deal  that's  painful — about 
— love,  don't  you?" 

Delicious  weeping  checked  her  further  quo- 
tation, and  the  Colonel  went  hastily  out  of 
the  room.  He  was  shaking  with  laughter. 
Evidently  his  place  to-day  was  not  with  the 
dolorous  twins,  what  with  their  secret  com- 
munings with  their  souls  and  their  Maids  of 
Astolat  and — he  leaned  against  the  wall,  weak 
with  laughter — and  their  wormwood  and  re- 
morseful pain  and  love !  What  on  earth  was 
the  matter  with  them? 

He  went  out  to  the  veranda,  looked  over 
the  broad  acres  of  his  lawn — every  place 
seemed  curiously  empty.  But  Sophia  was 
somewhere  in  the  house — he  would  find  So- 
phia !  In  other  days  he  would  have  stood  still 
and  roared  for  her;  now  he  walked  through 
the  hall,  his  hands  under  the  tails  of  his  coat, 
through  the  back  drawing-room,  crossed  to 
the  dining-room,  opened  the  door  into  the 
pantry 

Miss  Sophia  was  seated  before  a  large 
252 


JACK 

table,  with  jars  and  tumblers  of  preserved 
fruit  before  her,  at  her  left  hand  a  pile  of 
neatly  cut  rounds  of  white  paper,  at  her  right 
a  dish  of  beaten-up  white-of-egg,  in  front  of 
her  a  saucer  of  brandy.  It  was  the  moment 
of  a  household  ceremony,  but  Miss  Sophia's 
heart  was  not  in  it.  Her  hands  lay  idle  in  her 
lap  I 

"Oh,  Brother!"  she  said,  as  the  Colonel 
opened  the  door.  But  she  said  it  precisely 
as  she  would  have  said  "Oh,  Pussy,"  if  he 
had  been  the  cat,  or  "Oh,  Shem,"  if  Shem 
had  come  in  with  another  tray  of  glasses.  It 
was  perfectly  evident  that  her  mind  was  on 
something  else.    The  Colonel  felt  bewildered. 

"God  bless  my  soul !"  he  exclaimed.  "What 
in  heaven's  name  is  the  matter  with  everybody 
to-day?  There's  something  wrong — can't 
tell  me — something  going  on — something " 

"I'm  afraid  there  is,"  said  Miss  Sophia. 

The  Colonel  started,  looked  alarmed,  came 
nearer. 

"What  do  you  mean.  Sister?"  he  asked.  It 
had  been  fifty  years  or  more  since  he  had 
called  her  by  the  familiar  title  of  her  child- 
hood. She  flushed,  and  a  new  dignity  came 
into  her  manner  as  she  looked  up  at  him. 
253 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERLMENT 

She  even  laid  her  hand,  without  a  quiver,  over 
the  Colonel's,  where  it  rested  upon  the  pan- 
try table. 

"It's  our  little  girl,  our  Sybil,"  she  said. 
"Haven't  you  seen  it  comings  Brother  ?" 

He  stared  at  this  new  Sophia,  from  whom, 
for  the  moment  at  least,  all  the  quivering 
childishness  had  fled. 

"Why,  no,  Sophia !  I  haven't  noticed  any- 
thing.   What  are  you  trying  to  tell  me?" 

"Haven't  you  noticed — Jack  Rutherford — 
his  eyes — when  he  looks  at  Sybil — and — and 
— how  she  flushes  up  and — puts  on  her  white 
muslin — and " 

"Oh !  Is  that  all  ?"  said  the  Colonel,  stand- 
ing up  straight  again.  "Pshaw,  Sophia,  it's 
a  little  harmless  flirtation,  white  muslins  and 
such !    Every  pretty  girl " 

But  the  Colonel  paused,  as  if  something 
new  had  come  to  him.  His  brows  drew  down. 
"Why,  it's  nonsense!  Impossible!  He's  but 
a  boy!     A  baby!" 

Miss  Sophia  was  quite  still,  looking  up  at 
him — not  a  flutter,  not  a  tremble,  of  her  little 
hands.  "Just  his  father's  age.  Brother,  when 
he — and    Sybilla,    our   own    Sybilla,   was   as 

young  as  Sybil  when  she — when — you " 

254 


JACK 

The  Colonel  put  a  hand  before  his  face,  as 
if  to  ward  off  a  blow.  "Don't!"  he  said,  and 
moved  toward  the  door,  touching  things  as 
he  passed  quite  as  if  he  did  not  see  them. 
But  m  the  doorway  he  turned,  paused,  and 
said,  kindly : 

"It's  all  nonsense,  Sophia!  I'll  speak  to 
her  myself!" 

Sybil  little  knew  what  was  troubling  the 
Colonel,  as  she  rode  through  the  woods  with 
the  young  man  in  question  on  that  September 
afternoon.  The  Httle  party  of  four  had  ridden 
away  in  the  early  morning,  for  there  was  to  be 
a  tennis  match  in  St.  Anne's  that  afternoon, 
preceded  by  a  luncheon  at  Major  Nicholson's. 
It  was  long  past  five  when  the  horses  were 
brought  around  for  the  return,  and  Molly, 
who  was  going  out  again  in  the  evening,  de- 
clared that  she  must  ride  on  in  haste. 

"But  Jack  will  go  home  with  you,  Sybil 
dear."  Then,  at  sight  of  something  in  Sybil's 
eyes,  she  hastened  to  add,  "I  must  take  Don- 
ald back  with  me,  Sybil,  for  he  never  could 
make  it  in  time,  on  Grayling,  if  he  goes  home 
with  you  first." 

Sybil  knew  that  her  excuse  was  absurd,  but 
Jack  was  holding  his  hands  for  her  to  mount ; 
255 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

and  Donald  was  already  up  and  off  with 
Molly,  before  she  could  think  of  a  protest. 
For  a  few  miles  their  way  was  the  same, 
and  they  rode  in  ranks  as  close  as  the  horses 
permitted.  Then  Molly  and  Don,  waving 
good-bye,  turned  off  to  the  left,  and  Sybil's 
heart  insensibly  began  to  beat  faster  as  Jack 
urged  Winnie,  his  black  mare,  up  beside  Da- 
mascus. Damascus  was  always  shy  of  other 
horses ;  curiously  enough,  Winnie  was  one  of 
the  very  few  that  he  permitted  to  run  close. 
The  mare  was  as  beautiful,  as  splendid,  in  her 
way,  as  the  Arabian  in  his.  The  twins  had 
often  thrilled  at  sight  of  Jack  upon  Winnie, 
for  he  was  a  skilled  and  fearless  horseman, 
riding  motionless,  except  for  the  motion  of 
the  horse,  with  the  long  stirrups  of  the 
Southerner,  apparently  an  inseparable  part 
of  his  mount. 

"Oh,  Sybil,"  Bunny  had  sighed,  one  day, 
"if  he  only  wore  a  flying  cloak  and  spurs  and 
a  sword!  Wouldn't  he  be  just  a  perfect 
lover?" 

"Oh,  wouldn't  he?"  Bobs  had  agreed.  "But 
his  eyes  are  perfect,  anyway!  I  just  adore 
those  black  eyes !" 

But  Sybil  had  come  to  know  a  good  deal 
256     , 


JACK 

more  about  those  black  eyes  of  his  than  Bobs. 
It  was  because  she  could  not  forget  them  that 
she  urged  Damascus  now,  with  a  tiny  kick 
which  sent  him  forward  in  great  leaps.  But 
Jack  suspected  her  ruse,  smiled,  and  kept 
serenely  beside  her.  He  suspected,  too,  that 
she  was  frightened — God  bless  her!  Afraid 
— and  of  him? 

He  began  to  talk  to  her,  first  about  the  after- 
noon ;  then  about  a  house  they  saw  across  the 
fields,  an  old  story  of  by-gone  days  which  had 
been  staged  there ;  then  of  another  story  which 
it  suggested,  a  tale  of  his  own  ancestors,  of 
how  one  of  them  had  won  his  wife,  the  beauty 
of  three  States.  And  that  tale  led  on  to 
another,  the  story  of  the  first  Sybilla  Ruther- 
ford. 

"So  she  said  she  didn't  care  what  became 
of  the  estates,  nor  the  title,  either;  she  said 
she'd  marry  the  man  she  loved — that  was 
Floyd  Rutherford — and  the  cousin  might  have 
the  land,  since  that  was  all  that  seemed  to 
matter  to  him.  And  she  did  marry  Floyd, 
too;  and  they  came  over  to  Virginia,  and 
then  up  here.  And  since  then  there's  always 
been  a  Sybilla  Rutherford,  you  know,  until 
— until — well,  I  don't  know  the  facts  of  the 
257 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

case,  but  I  guess  it  was  until  there  was  some 
connection  with  the  name  that — hurt." 

Sybil  was  silent.  She  was  thinking  of  that 
Sybilla  Who  had  made  the  memory  of  the 
name  "hurt,"  and  wondering.  They  rode  on 
through  the  flickering  shadows  of  the  woods, 
walking  their  horses,  because  of  danger  of 
overhanging  boughs.  They  went  on  in  silence, 
until  Sybil,  conscious  that  his  gaze  was  rest- 
ing upon  her,  felt  irresistibly  drawn  to  look 
at  him.  But  when  she  looked  her  heart 
leaped.  Again  she  touched  Damascus,  again 
he  sprang  forward,  while  she  bent  over  his 
neck. 

"Don't  do  that  again,  dear,"  Jack's  voice 
said,  while  she  knew  that  his  hand  was  on 
Damascus's  bridle,  in  control.  "Don't  try  to 
run  away  from  me.     You  know,  you  can't." 

She  could  feel  the  blood  pounding  in  her 
ears,  and  for  the  life  of  her  she  could  not 
speak.  She  was  frightened !  There  was 
nothing  in  the  world  to  be  afraid  of — and 
she  was  afraid!  Pride  alone  should  have 
steadied  her — and  her  very  hand  was  trem- 
bling! She  had  thought  of  so  many  things 
to  say  when  this  moment  should  be  upon 
her — and  she  was  speechless. 
258 


JACK 

Jack  had  drawn  Winnie  close  to  Damascus's 
side.  Now  he  laid  his  hand  over  Sybil's, 
over  the  fingers  that  held  the  bridle. 

"Why,  you're  trembling,"  he  said,  while  she 
could  have  wept  for  shame.  "You  aren't 
afraid  of  me,  Sybil,  are  you?  I  want  you  to 
trust  me.  I  don't  want  you  to  be  afraid  of 
me!" 

Oh,  it  was  too  absurd  of  her!  She  lifted 
her  head,  and  managed  to  look  into  his  face, 
her  own  flushing  deeply.  "I  do  trust  you. 
Jack!     That  is  why " 

It  was  wonderful  how  close  together  those 
two  horses  walked  1  Now  Jack's  face  was 
flushed,  too,  and  he  looked  like  a  man  who 
had  won  a  prize  or — or  something! 

"Sybil!"  he  said,  "Sybil,  I  want  you  to 
love  me,  too!    I  do  love  you  so,  dear!" 

She  was  looking  at  Damascus's  ears,  as  if 
they  had  never  been  visible  until  now.  That 
horrid  feeling  in  her  own  ears  was  quite,  quite 
gone ;  but  now  there  was  an  even  more  horrid 
choking  in  her  throat,  and  something  surely 
must  be  the  matter  with  her  heart;  and  the 
woods — she  did  not  like  those  shadowy 
woods. 

"Sybil!"  Jack  was  saying,  as  if  the  mere 
259 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

syllables  of  her  name  gave  him  joy  in  the 
saying — "Sybilla!  Tell  me,  won't  you, — 
dear?" 

"Oh,  Jack!"  Sybilla  said,  and  looked  at 
him,  looked  at  him  through  tears,  with  a  face 
that  quivered  with — pity.  .  .  .  Jack  looked 
at  her,  too,  for  her  face  was  the  heart  of 
the  world  for  him;  he  looked,  and  saw,  and 
knew,  for  all  his  youth  and  inexperience,  that 
what  he  sought  and  hungered  for  was  not 
there — and  that  what  he  beheld  was,  indeed, 
but  pity.  Not  what  he  sought,  not  what  his 
heart  was  pleading  for,  but — pity!  He  had 
asked  for  trust,  for  love — and  what  she  was 
giving  him  was — pity! 

"Sybilla!"  he  said  again,  but  in  a  whisper 
now,  for  the  dear  syllables  were  so. hard  to 
say  when  his  love  was  looking  at  him — like 
that! 

"Oh,  Jack,"  she  said  again,  still  with  that 
look  on  her  face  that  made  her  all  the  more 
beautiful,  yet  curiously  removed  her  from 
him,  and  was  so  far  from  being  what  he 
craved  for — "Oh,  Jack  dear,  I  do  trust  you, 
and  I  do  love  you — but " 

She  did  love  him!  With  that  look  on  her 
face !  Love — the  word  he  had  wanted  to  hear 
260 


JACK 

with  all  the  brimming  ardor  of  his  first  young 
love  of  a  woman — and  now  she  said  it  in  that 
way.     .     .     . 

His  hand  fell  heavily  on  Winnie's  reins, 
and  she  drew  back.  They  rode  on  through 
the  darkening  woods,  came  out  at  last  into 
the  evening  glow,  took  their  way  up  the  drive 
toward  the  great  house.     .     .     . 

"I  can't,  Sybil!  I  can't  let  it  be  that 
way!  I  will  make  you  love  me!  I  can,  I 
know " 

She  did  not  answer,  and  courage  lifted  its 
head  within  him. 

"I  can,  dear,  and — I  swear  I  will !  Because 
— there  can't  be  anyone  else — there  can't  be — 
Is  there?" 

She  turned  in  the  saddle  and  looked  at  him 
once  more.  Then,  when  he  had  taken  a  long 
look  in  return,  when  his  eyes  had  sounded 
hers  and  read  something  in  their  depths.  Jack 
bent  low  over  Winnie's  neck,  wheeled  about, 
and  set  off  down  the  driveway  as  fast  as  the 
mare  could  carry  him. 

"Sybil  says  she's  got  a  headache,"  said 
Bunny,  when  the  supper  bell  had  called  them 
to  the  dining-room. 

261 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

The  Colonel's  eyes  met  Miss  Sophia's  across 
the  table. 

"I  think  maybe  you  might  run  up  and  see 
if  the  dear  child  needs  anything,  Brother,"  the 
little  lady  said,  still  with  that  curious  new 
dignity  upon  her — almost  as  if  she  were 
somebody's   mother ! 

And  when  the  old  man  had  taken  himself 
up  the  stairs  and  knocked  at  his  darling's 
door,  and  opened  it,  and  beheld  her  in  a  little 
blue  dressing-gown,  a  disconsolate  heap  across 
the  foot  of  her  bed,  he  came  into  the  room 
and  closed  the  door,  and  bent  over  her. 

"Sybilla !  So  that's  the  way  it  is  to  be,  eh, 
little  girl?" 

And  Sybil  rose,  and  threw  her  arms  around 
his  neck.  He  carried  her  to  an  armchair  near 
the  window,  where  the  evening  breeze  and 
the  call  of  the  little  owl  could  come  in  to 
them.  He  let  her  sob  out  her  trouble,  com- 
forting her,  and — somehow — himself  most 
curiously  comforted. 


XVII 
HOME   AGAIN 

SYBIL  went  north  with  the  twins  and  Don- 
ald in  September,  with  a  great  longing 
for  home  and  Mother-dear  and  Dad,  but  also 
with  a  lump  in  her  throat  whenever  she  re- 
membered Miss  Sophia's  tears  and  the 
Colonel's  face.  The  old  gentleman  had  been 
in  a  most  abominable  humor  on  the  morning 
of  their  departure.  He  had  vowed  that  the 
coffee  was  bad,  that  the  weather  was  hor- 
rible, that  the  corn-cakes  were  burned,  that 
Japhet  had  not  washed  the  carriage ;  he  said, 
"There,  there !"  when  the  twins  hugged  him, 
and  demanded  of  everybody  what  all  this 
fuss  was  about.  He  drove  down  to  the  boat 
with  them,  and — it  is  deplorable,  but  true — 
grunted  at  the  good  Captain's  little  pleasan- 
tries. When  he  got  back  to  Montebello  he 
stamped  through  the  hall  and  slammed  the 
door  of  his  library,  and  would  not  come  out  to 
263 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

t 

supper — but  was  discovered  by  Shem,  at 
about  ten  o'clock  that  night,  prowling  around 
the  pantry  with  a  large  piece  of  chocolate 
cake  in  one  hand  and  a  bunch  of  grapes  in 
the  other. 

Once  more  at  home  Sybil  felt  as  if  she  had 
been  away  for  years.  Somehow  the  dear 
familiar  rooms  looked  smaller,  and  shabbier, 
than  she  had  remembered  them — but  she 
loved  them  all  the  more  for  that.  Mother- 
dear  seemed  a  little  tired,  but  the  roses  re- 
turned to  her  cheeks  again  when  they  had 
been  home  a  few  days.  Hallam  followed 
Sybil  around  as  the  twins  had  done  during 
those  memorable  days  before  she  went  to 
Maryland;  and  Dad's  first  call,  whenever  he 
came  into  the  house,  was : 

"Where's  my  General  Manager?" 
School  began  almost  immediately  for  the 
twins,  and  in  another  week  Donald,  too,  went 
off,  with  Dick,  to  Cambridge.  Then  there 
were  more  precious  hours  alone  with  Mother- 
dear  and  the  doctor,  and  visits  with  all  the 
old  friends,  and  a  thousand  threads  to  be 
picked  up,  as  it  were.  But  all  this  was  broken 
in  upon  by  Sammy  Wilkerson,  the  messenger- 
264 


HOME   AGAIN 

boy,  who  rode  up  on  his  bicycle  one  day  and 
called  out  from  the  gate: 

"Hi,  Sybil!  Telegram  for  you!  From 
that  place  you  been  to !" 

For  that  was  the  way  with  Sammy  Wilker- 
son;  and,  as  Bunny  said,  it  was  plain  to  be 
seen  what  sort  of  man  he  would  grow  up  into 
— and  what  a  pity  it  was  that  he  couldn't 
grow  up  into  an  old  lady,  because  he  would 
so  enjoy  finding  out  everything  about  every- 
body and  telling  everybody  else.  The  doctor 
rather  thought  Sammy  Wilkerson  might  en- 
joy doing  that  when  he  grew  up,  even  though 
he  could  not  be  an  old  lady — and  Bobs  was 
quite  sure  that  when  she  was  as  old  as  Sybil 
she'd  like  to  hear  a  Sammy  Wilkerson  call  her 
by  her  first  name !    Some  people,  etc.    .    .    . 

The  telegram  was  from  Molly,  and  the 
twins  quite  reveled  in  her  careless  disregard 
of  the  number  of  words. 

Don't  be  alarmed,  but  Miss  Sophia  and  I  think 
the  Colonel  needs  you.    Do  come  if  you  can. 

Molly. 

"Of  course  you  must  go,"   said  Mother- 
dear,  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  and  went 
265 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

off  at  once  to  have  the  big  trunk  brought 
down  from  the  attic  again, 

"It  will  be  for  only  a  month  or  two  more," 
Sybil  said,  as  once  again  she  tearfully  bade 
them  all  good-by.  But  the  journey  this  time 
was  far  different  from  that  other  one,  in  the 
spring.  There  were  no  more  doubts  or  fears. 
On  the  contrary,  she  was  going  home — and 
how  curious  that  was !  Home  was  in  dear 
South  Wickham ;  of  course  it  was !  Yet  for 
Montebello  she  was  conscious  of  a  different 
love,  the  affection  one  has  for  something — 
it  seemed  absurd  to  put  it  that  way — but  it 
was  almost  the  affection  one  has  for  some- 
thing that  is  in  one's  very  blood      .    ,    . 

Captain  Woollett,  as  jovial  as  ever,  lent 
her  his  glass,  as  they  rounded  Cherrypit,  so 
that  she  could  make  out  the  figure  of  the 
Colonel  awaiting  her  on  the  wharf.  But  only 
Miss  Sophia  stood  there,  with  Molly,  yet  a 
Miss  Sophia  so  fluttering  with  happiness  and 
excitement  that  Sybil  could  be  sure  all  was 
well — at  home! 

"Oh,  my  dear,"  the  little  lady  confided,  on 

the  way  up  from  the  wharf,  "dear  Brother 

has  been  in  such  a  shocking  humor  ever  since 

you  left!     He — he  has — er — I  hate  to  say  it, 

266 


HOME    AGAIN 

but  he  has  raised  his  voice — ve-ry  often, 
my  dear!  He  has  kept  us  all  actually  jump- 
ing, really!" 

She  found  him  before  a  blazing  fire  in  the 
library — in  the  big  wing-chair  which  had  been 
Bunny's  nest  on  a  memorable  day — with  his 
poor  foot  on  a  hassock.  He  grasped  her  hands 
as  if  he  could  never  again  let  them  go,  but 
drew  his  eyebrows  down  into  a  most  ferocious 
frown;  yet  all  he  said  was: 

"What  made  your  boat  so  late,  hey  ?  Can't 
count  on  anything,  these  days!  Everything 
late !  Boats  late,  meals  late — you  Shem ! 
Confound  that  nigger!  Shem!  You  go  ask 
Sair'  Ann  what's  the  matter  with  supper! 
Tell  her  if  supper's  late  again  I'll — I'll  have 
Torm's  wife  do  the  cooking!    You " 

But  Sybil's  arms  were  around  his  neck,  and 
her  cheek  against  his  hair,  and  she  was  laugh- 
ing at  him. 

"Why,  Uncle !  W-h-y !  Aren't  you  ashamed 
of  yourself!  It  isn't  anywhere  near  supper 
time!  Oh,  oh,  to  be  so  cross — just  when 
I've  come  back  home!" 

The  Colonel  reached  up  and  took  her 
hands  again.  For  a  moment  he  did  not  speak, 
and  Sybil  was  sure  he  was  glad  that  she 
267 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

stood  back  of  him  and  could  not  see  his  face. 
Then  he  said  in  quite  a  different  tone: 

"There,  there!  Run  along!  Take  off  that 
hat — make  yourself  look  as  if  you  hadn't 
been  away — from  home,  Sybilla !" 

She  sat  on  the  arm  of  his  chair  that  even- 
ing, while  Miss  Sophia  was  busy  with  her 
knitting  on  the  other  side  of  the  hearth,  and 
told  them  all  about  the  other  home,  and  the 
dear  ones  she  had  left. 

"The  twins  wanted  to  come  with  me,"  she 
said.  "Bobs  is  crocheting  you  a  pair  of  pale- 
blue  bedroom  slippers,  and  took  it  quite  hard 
that  I  wouldn't  wait  until  they  were  finished. 
Bunny  is  making  you  a  frame  for  their  pic- 
ture, but  they've  sent  the  picture  now,  with 
their  very  best  love,  Uncle!" 

"Bless  their  hearts!"  said  the  Colonel. 
"How  I  wish  they  belonged  to  me!  I  wish 
you  all  did!     I've  missed  you,  minx!" 

There  were  many  evidences  that  he  had 
missed  her,  and  many  preparations  for  her 
return.  There  was  a  new  boathouse  at  the 
foot  of  the  lawn,  for  one  thing,  and  the  key 
of  it  lay  on  her  bureau ;  when  she  investigated 
it  next  day  she  found  a  little,  safe,  flat-bot- 
tomed catboat  and  a  beautiful  cedar  canoe 
268 


HOME   AGAIN 

with  places  for  two  paddles.  She  remembered 
that  Donald  had  been  showing  her  a  cata- 
logue of  just  such  canoes,  one  evening  on  the 
front  steps,  while  the  Colonel  looked  on. 
Then  there  was  a  large  open- front  stove  set 
up  in  her  room,  and  new  chintz  covers  over 
the  upholstered  pieces ;  and  at  the  stable  there 
was  a  new  phaeton  for  Marguerite,  and  a 
window  had  been  cut  in  Damascus's  box-stall, 
so  that  he  could  look  out  for  her  as  she  ran 
down  every  morning  with  his  dainties. 

She  had  as  much  to  do  as  if  she  had  been 
away  from  home  for  years,  instead  of  only 
having  returned  to  make  a  second  visit. 
Everywhere  in  the  neighborhood  she  was  wel- 
comed, by  everyone  made  to  feel  that  she  had 
come  back  home.  Every  afternoon  there  was 
a  carriage  or  two  before  the  door,  every 
evening  some  strange  saddle-horses  taken 
around  to  the  stable,  while  their  owners  sat 
on  the  veranda  or  before  the  big  fire  in  the 
hall.  The  Colonel  grumbled,  but  there  was 
in  his  eyes  a  gleam  of  satisfaction  at  her  pop- 
ularity. 

Molly  came  often  to  "spend  the  night," 
and  there  were  midnight  talks  upstairs  which 
269 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

were,  of  course,   far  more  confidential  than 
any  others. 

"I've  never  asked  you  what  you  did  to  my 
Jack,"  said  Molly,  during  the  first  of  these, 
"but  I  suppose  I  know." 

"Oh,  please,  don't,"  Sybil  begged,  flushing, 
and  looking  distressed,  and  lovely,  even  to 
Molly's  new  jealousy — a  jealousy  on  behalf 
of  the  beloved  brother  who  had  been  denied 
the  wish  of  his  heart. 

"Well,  I  won't;  only — I  don't  see  why 
you're  such  a  clam !" 

Sybil  noticed  that  Molly  avoided  talking 
about  Donald ;  but  she  thought  it  was  proba- 
bly due  to  the  fact  that  Molly  was  having  such 
a  very  great  deal  to  say  at  that  time  about 
Berkeley  Hart.  As  for  Donald  himself,  the 
constraint  that  had  grown  up  between  them 
during  the  summer  seemed  to  wear  over  into 
the  fall.  His  letters  were  full  of  college  hap- 
penings, as  of  old;  yet  there  began  to  creep 
into  them  a  new  element  which  gradually 
made  their  coming  something  of  an  excite- 
ment. They  were  just  different;  and  every 
girl  knows  what  "different"  can  mean!  She 
had  always  loved  the  other  kind  of  letters; 
yet  she  liked  the  new  ones  none  the  less. 
270 


HOME    AGAIN 

The  friendship  with  Molly  had  developed 
into  one  of  those  deeply  affectionate  compan- 
ionships that  are  so  dear  to  girls;  every  day 
saw  them  riding  together  with  the  Colonel  or 
Mr.  Rutherford,  or  sailing  the  Blue  Wing  or 
Sybil's  little  Sea  Nettle  under  Uncle  Frank's 
directions,  or  out  in  the  canoe,  with  Molly  in 
the  bow  learning  to  paddle.  There  was  only 
one  thing  which  the  girls  could  not  share,  and 
that  was  Sybil's  friendship  with  the  Hermit. 
She  had  asked  him,  one  day,  for  permission 
to  bring  Molly  with  her;  but  the  old  man 
seemed  to  shrink  into  himself  at  the  sug- 
gestion. 

"I  want  my  two  friends  to  meet,  you  see !" 
Sybil  said,  and  her  smile  would  have  disarmed 
the  Colonel  immediately.  But  the  Hermit 
raised  a  protesting  hand. 

"I  must  not  let  you  bring  your  friend 
here,"  he  said.     "I  must  not!" 

"But  /  come !"  she  cried. 

"Yes,  you  come!  But  you  came  by  acci- 
dent, at  first ;  and  you  are — Sybilla !" 

There  was  such  a  world  of  sadness  in  his 
voice  that  she  was  moved  with  pity.  "Mr. 
John,  I  do  not  understand,"  she  said.  "Why 
271 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

do  you  live  here  alone?  Why  do  you  shun 
people  ?" 

She  wondered  whether  she  had  gone  too 
far,  but  he  answered  her  simply,  without 
surprise  or  anger. 

He  smiled  the  saddest,  most  wistful  little 
smile  she  had  ever  seen;  it  was  so  sad  that 
it  brought  the  tears  to  her  eyes.  "Ah,  my 
child,  if  I  told  you  that,  you  would  pass  me 
by,  as  the  world  does!  So  it  is  best  untold; 
for  I — I  should  miss  you,  Sybilla!" 

"Oh,  Mr.  John!  Please  forget  that  I 
asked !  Don't  tell  me !  Not  that  I'm  not  per- 
fectly certain  you  have  done  nothing  wrong! 
I  know  you  have  not — you  could  not  I  And 
I  would  not  pass  you  by!  You  are  my 
friend !" 

He  did  not  reply,  until  she  presently  asked 
again : 

"You  really  will  not  let  me  bring  Molly  to 
see  you?" 

But  again  he  shook  his  head,  and  said, 
"Better  not!     Better  not!" 


XVIII 
THE  STORM 

THE  brilliant  coloring  of  autumn  seemed 
to  flash  out  in  a  night,  with  the  first 
frost ;  and  the  snappy  freshness,  coming  after 
the  usual  languorous  mildness  of  October, 
was  so  exhilarating  that  the  girls  inclined 
more  and  more  to  out-of-door  amusements. 
Nothing  could  have  been  more  delightful  than 
to  ride  'cross  country  all  morning,  sometimes 
with  the  hunters,  sometimes  alone  together, 
allowing  Damascus  and  Molly's  Apollo  to  fly 
over  fields  and  fences  at  will,  and  in  the 
afternoon  to  paddle  down  Cherrypit  in  the 
little  canoe,  then  to  float  back  with  the  tide  or 
rest  in  some  sheltered  inlet. 

It  was  on  such  an  afternoon,  when  the  air 
was  breathlessly  still,  and  the  haze  of  Indian 
summer  veiled  the  horizon  and  hovered, 
wraithlike,  among  the  pine  woods,  that  the 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

girls  set  forth  to  carry  out  a  project  which 
they  had  long  had  in  mind. 

They  had  paddled  in  and  out  of  the  inlets 
that  opened  into  the  broader  Cherrypit,  where 
the  tide  came  swiftly  up  to  meet  the  fresh 
water;  and,  as  their  skill  in  paddling  grew, 
their  ambitions  grew  also.  They  had  never 
been  forbidden  to  go  beyond  the  mouth  of 
the  Creek,  because  no  one  had  dreamed  of 
their  being  daring  enough  to  try  it;  yet  that 
was  the  project  which  now  tempted  them. 
To  skim  down  Cherrypit,  out  past  the  Ford- 
ham  orchards  and  the  Montebello  fields  and 
woods,  around  Cecil's  Point  to  the  Bay,  and 
down  the  shore  of  the  Bay  to  the  little  narrow 
creek  that  made  the  southern  boundary  of 
Montebello — that  was  their  intended  voyage. 
They  knew  well  enough  how  dangerous  it 
would  be;  the  great  Bay  in  early  November 
is  far  from  resembling  a  mill-pond.  But  it 
was  the  danger  which  tempted  them ;  the  voy- 
age would  be  a  feat  to  be  rather  proud  of. 

Sybil  laughed  gleefully  as  she  turned  the 
canoe  northwards  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Creek.  "This  was  the  day  of  all  days  to  try 
it,  Molly,"  she  said.  "Did  you  ever  see  the 
Bay  smoother?" 

274 


THE    STORM 

Molly,  more  experienced  in  Maryland 
weather-signs,  looked  over  her  shoulder 
toward  the  west.  "It  is  altogether  too  calm," 
she  said.  "I  wish  I  could  see  over  the  tops 
of  those  trees !" 

"Oh,  it's  too  late  in  the  season  for  a  thun- 
der-storm," Sybil  declared,  with  all  the  bold- 
ness of  ignorance. 

But  almost  as  she  spoke  the  sky  began  to 
grow  yellow.  A  bird  flew  across  their  track, 
with  short,  frightened  cries,  making  hastily 
for  the  shelter  of  the  shore;  and  a  deeper 
hush  seemed  to  fall  upon  the  water,  which 
began  to  look  oily  and  black. 

"Late  or  not,  there's  a  storm  coming,  and 
these  yellow  ones  are  the  worst,"  Molly  said. 
"Paddle  faster!" 

"Long  strokes,  then,"  Sybil  replied.  "Per- 
haps we  had  better  run  ashore!" 

"But  look!  There's  no  place  to  land!" 
cried  Molly.  "That  sandy  cliff  is  impossible! 
We  shall  just  have  to  make  the  little  creek !" 

For  a   mile  they  paddled  on,  desperately 

now,  without  speaking.     The  water  seemed 

to  be  curling  up,  as  if  some  force  beneath 

were  lifting  it.    There  was  a  flash  or  two  of 

275 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

lightning  from  the  west.     The  air  suddenly 
became  as  hot  as  the  blast  of  a  furnace. 

Their  breath  was  coming  in  short,  quick 
gasps,  and  Molly's  strokes  were  beginning  to 
grow  weaker. 

Again  a  bird  flew  past,  making  for  shore, 
flying  low,  flying  iswiftly,  not  wasting  its 
breath  in  cries,  but  spending  its  little  energy 
on  winning  to  safety.  Sybil  could  hear 
Molly's  breath,  and  another  sound  came  across 
the  waters,  a  sound  as  of  some  great  whis- 
per. Then,  from  the  west,  it  was  as  if  a  gray 
veil  was  spread  upon  the  Bay — the  rain !  Yet 
the  veil  passed,  or  was  withdrawn  as  if  the 
storm  was  not  yet  ready  to  outpour  itself; 
and  again  that  horrible,  oily  calmness,  again 
the  lifting  of  the  water.  She  strained  against 
her  paddle,  and  all  the  while  she  seemed  to 
be  saying  to  herself,  foolishly,  over  and  over: 

"Good  form !  Good  form !  That's  the  way 
to  win!"  as  if  it  were  a  race  she  was  pad- 
dling. 

"Oh,  I  can't!"  Molly  gasped,  yet  all  the 
while  kept  on,  stroke  by  stroke  with  Sybil's, 
the  canoe  flashing  through  the  water  that 
seemed  to  press  against  its  bow  like  some 
conscious  restraining  force. 
276 


THE    STORM 

There  was  a  paling  of  the  yellow  near  the 
western  horizon,  a  darkening  of  the  gray 
overhead — a  clash  and  rattle  of  thunder,  and 
lightning  that  seemed  to  pour  itself  upon  the 
Bay. 

A  cry  from  Molly — and  Sybil  glanced 
quickly  over  her  shoulder.  Something  brown, 
that  was  not  woods  or  field,  was  revealed  in 
that  quick  look. 

"The  Hermit's !"  she  cried.  "Molly!  The 
Hermit  has  a  little  boat-landing  over  there — 
hidden  behind  those  bushes!  I  think  we  can 
make  it!" 

She  was  conscious  of  a  reply  from  Molly 
that  was  half  a  sob.  They  paddled  wildly 
for  a  few  minutes;  then  Sybil  turned  the 
canoe — too  suddenly,  as  if  in  response  to  the 
thundering  crash  that  snapped  and  rang  and 
reverberated  from  the  heavens,  with  flash 
after  blinding  flash  of  lightning,  and  a  sud- 
denly descending  darkness.  She  thought  she 
heard  an  answering  call  to  Molly's  sharp  cry. 
Then  something  cold  closed  over  her,  and  the 
living  world  went  out,  like  the  flame  of  a 
candle. 

When  consciousness  fought  its  way  back, 
through  the  weight  on  her  chest  and  the 
277 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

pounding  in  her  ears,  it  was  to  welcome,  first 
of  all,  the  warmth  of  the  hot  things  all 
around  her  and  of  the  blankets  over  her. 
Passively,  she  accepted  the  fact  that  she  had 
awakened  in  a  warm  room,  on  a  couch,  with 
kindly,  awkward  hands  ministering  to  her, 
and  someone  sobbing  not  far  away.  With 
equal  passiveness  she  remembered  that  she 
had  gone  to  sleep — if  sleep  it  was — with  cold 
waters  drawing  her  down,  under  a  sky  that 
seemed  full  of  thunder  and  lightning  and 
roaring  gusts  of  wind.  Nothing  mattered 
very  much,  now  that  she  was  warm  and  safe ; 
but  she  wished  someone  would  remove  the 
weight  that  was  pressing  on  her  chest.  With 
the  wish  she  stirred,  and  a  face  bent  over 
her,  and  someone  spoke  in  a  voice  that 
seemed  to  be  the  Hermit's — or  was  it  her 
uncle's?" 

"Don't  be  frightened,  Sybilla!  You  are 
safe — quite  safe." 

Then  the  sobbing  ceased,  and  someone  else 
bent  over  the  couch  where  she  lay.  It  might 
have  been  Molly,  she  thought;  but  why  was 
Molly's  hair  all  wet? 

"Is  she  alive?  Is  she  really  alive?"  Molly's 
278 


THE    STORM 

voice  cried;  and  the  question  seemed  so  fool- 
ish that  Sybil  faintly  smiled. 

"Yes,  indeed !"  the  Hermit  declared.  "She's 
as  much  alive  as  you  are !  Come  now,  let  me 
wrap  you  up  in  front  of  the  fire,  while  she 
goes  to  sleep  again !" 

But  Sybil  did  not  go  to  sleep.  She  was  so 
very  comfortable,  just  lying  there  in  the 
warmth!  She  watched  the  Hermit  push  his 
big  chair  up  before  the  fire,  and  help  Molly 
into  it,  and  tuck  more  blankets  all  around 
her.  She  watched  him  stoop  and  lift  some- 
thing steaming  from  the  hearth,  and  pour  part 
of  it  into  a  cup  for  Molly.  She  watched  him 
go  to  a  window  and  look  out,  as  if  he  were 
expecting  someone.  And  after  what  seemed 
a  long,  long  time  she  heard  wheels  outside, 
and  voices. 

The  Hermit  heard  them,  too;  he  stood  be- 
side her  couch,  and  his  face  looked  almost  as 
white  as  his  hair.  Molly  jumped  up  as  the 
door  opened,  and  with  a  little  cry  was  in  her 
grandfather's  arms  before  he  knew  it,  while 
Clarissy,  the  same  who  was  now  the  Ruther- 
fords'  cook  but  used  to  be  Molly's  mammy, 
was  trying  to  take  Molly  into  her  own  arms. 
279 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Sybil  wondered  why  the  tears  were  streaming 
down  Clarissy's  cheeks.     .     .     , 

Then  Mr.  Rutherford  came  forward,  hold- 
ing out  both  his  hands  to  the  Hermit.  Mr. 
John  stood  for  a  moment  as  if  he  did  not 
quite  know  what  to  do.  But  he  must  have 
come  to  a  decision  because,  when  Mr.  Ruther- 
ford began  to  speak,  in  that  queer,  shaking 
voice,  he  was  certainly  holding  Mr.  John's 
hands ! 

"John,  John,"  he  said,  "there  has  been 
enough  of  this !  I  have  wanted  for  years  to 
take  your  hand  and  say,  'Let  us  forget  the 
years  between!'  John,  let  me  send  for  Wil- 
liam!" 

But  the  Hermit  shook  his  head,  and  it  all 
seemed  so  queer  and  incomprehensible  and 
altogether  topsy-turvy  that  Sybil  closed  her 
eyes  and  went  to  sleep  again,  or  off  into  that 
far  place  where  sleep  seemed  to  be  waiting 
for  her  with  welcoming  arms. 

When  she  awoke  again  a  great  many  people 
seemed  to  be  talking  all  at  once,  and  a  great 
many  others  seemed  to  be  warning  them  to 
keep  quiet;  but  after  a  moment  she  found 
that  it  was  only  Shem  and  Jinny  and  Sair' 
280 


THE   STORM 

Ann  and  Miss  Sophia  who  were  all  talking  to- 
gether, while  the  Colonel  in  a  trembling  voice 
was  saying  over  and  over,  as  he  carried  her 
into  the  house  at  Montebello: 

"Be  quiet!  Be  quiet,  I  say!  You  Shem! 
Stop  that  whimpering!  Sophia,  will  you  be- 
have like  a  sensible  woman?  Sair'  Ann, 
open  that  door!" 

Then  he  would  stop  trying  to  roar  at  them 
to  say  to  someone  else,  "Oh,  my  little  girl! 
Oh,  my  little  girl !  Sybilla !  My  little  girl !" 
and  his  voice  was  shaking  just  as  Mr.  Ruther- 
ford's had  been  at  the  Hermit's  house.  She 
looked  around  for  the  Hermit,  but  he  was  not 
there;  old  Daniel  was  standing  on  the  piazza 
with  Shem,  but  she  wanted  the  Hermit. 

It  was  hard  to  lift  her  hand,  but  she  man-, 
aged  to  raise  it  to  her  uncle's  cheek.  "Mr. 
John!"  she  murmured,  and  it  seemed  that 
her  uncle  understood. 

He  was  holding  her  now  on  his  knees,  all 
bundled  up  in  the  Hermit's  blankets  as  she 
still  was,  before  a  roaring  fire  in  his  library, 
while  Sair'  Ann  was  kneeling  down  in  front 
of  them  and  rubbing  Sybil's  feet,  and  Cousin 
Sophia  was  fluttering  about  like  a  frightened 
moth. 

281 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"Yes,  yes,  my  darling,"  her  uncle  was  say- 
ing, "we  will  bring  him!  John  shall  come  to 
Sybilla !    Oh,  my  little  girl !    My  little  girl !" 

Then  someone  came  in  who  seemed  to  take 
authority  over  them  all. 

"Come  now,  Colonel,"  he  said,  laying  a 
kindly  hand  on  the  old  gentleman's  shoulder, 
and  holding  Sybilla's  wrist,  just  as  Dad 
would  have  done,  "come  now,  this  is  too  ex- 
citing for  this  little  lady,  sir!  We  must  get 
her  to  bed  at  once!" 

"Then  open  that  door,  Sophia,"  the 
Colonel  commanded,  as  if  he  were  saying 
something  which  was  quite  momentous,  and 
bore  her  through  the  door  of  memory,  into 
the  sacred  room  that  had  been  his  wife's. 

Sybil  was  not  too  weak  to  know  where  he 
was  taking  her,  not  too  weak  to  look  around. 
Jinny  was  already  kneeling  before  the  fire- 
place, lighting  the  fire,  and  Shem  and  Sair' 
Ann  were  bustling  around,  and — oh,  wonder 
of  all  that  was  wonderful — over  the  broad 
while  mantel  shelf,  between  the  lighted  candle- 
sconces,  there  hung  a  portrait,  life-sized,  of 
a  girl  in  white,  a  girl  with  deep  gray  eyes 
and  dark  hair  that  curled  over  her  shoulders. 
Her  chin  was  raised  just  a  trifle,  her  lips  wore 
282 


'"iic  bore  her. . .  .iiiLu  Llie  bdciea  luuui  liiaL  uua  ui.1.11  his  wile  s. 


THE   STORM 

a  little  teasing  smile,  her  hand  was  playing 
with  the  blue  ribbon  of  her  sash — a  portrait — 
surely,  surely — of  Sybil's  very  self,  were  it 
not  for  the  wide  hoop-skirt  and  the  quaint 
hair  bracelet  on  the  arm.     .     .     . 

For  days  after  that  the  portrait  seemed  to 
smile  down  upon  her  through  long  hours 
when  the  weight  on  her  chest  changed  to  in- 
tolerable pain,  and  people  tiptoed  about  the 
room,  and  spoke  only  in  whispers,  and  no 
one  but  Mr.  John — which  proved  that  it  was 
a  dream — could  persuade  the  Colonel  tp  leave 
the  chair  beside  her  bed.  At  first  it  was  the 
strange  doctor  who  stayed  in  the  room  so 
many  hours,  and  bent  over  her  so  often ;  then 
it  was  Dad,  her  own  Dad ;  and  after  he  came 
the  pain  in  her  chest  grew  better. 

Then  one  day  she  awoke  to  a  realization 
that  the  pain  was  gone,  that  she  was  hungry, 
and  glad  to  see  the  sunlight.  Dad  was  stand- 
ing at  the  foot  of  her  bed,  smiling  at  her 
while  he  talked  with  the  Colonel ;  the  old  gen- 
tleman was  still  in  the  chair  beside  her,  where 
she  had  seen  him  whenever  she  awakened 
during  such  a  long  time.  They  were  talking 
about  very  uninteresting  things,  like  the  state 
of  the  country  and  crops,  while  she  wanted 
283 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

them  to  know  how  hungry  she  was.  She 
wanted  them  to  talk  to  her!  So  she  pinched 
the  Colonel's  hand  where  it  lay  on  the  coverlet. 

He  jumped,  and  looked  down  at  her. 

"Bless  my  soul !"  he  cried.  "Bless  my  soul ! 
Did  you  see  what  that  minx  did,  Robert?" 

Sybil  smiled.  "I  want  some  fried  chicken 
and  crabs  and  peach  marmalade!"  she  said, 
in  quite  a  strong  little  voice,  all  things  con- 
sidered. 

The  doctor  laughed,  while  the  Colonel 
looked  alarmed,  as  if  he  thought  she  were 
dreaming  again. 

"Oh,  ho !"  said  Dad.  "So  that's  the  order 
of  the  day,  is  it?  I  guess  she's  getting  well. 
Colonel !" 

"Are  you  sure  it's  not  a  relapse?"  the  old 
gentleman  asked,  the  greatest  anxiety  in  his 
tone. 

This  time  Sybil  laughed,  too.  "It  will  be 
worse  than  that  if  I  don't  get  something  to 
eat  soon!"  she  declared. 

"You  may  have  every  drop  of  a  glass  of 
milk,"  Dad  said,  as  if  he  were  giving  her  a 
feast;  and,  while  Sybil  protested,  she  drank, 
and  the  Colonel  was  so  overjoyed  that  he 
marched  off  to  the  kitchen  and  ordered  Sair' 
284 


THE    STORM 

Ann  to  prepare  a  full  supply  of  everything 
that  his  darling  liked  best,  from  crab  cakes 
to  strawberry  whip,  from  chocolate  cake  and 
fried  chicken  to  peach  ice  cream  and  spoon- 
bread,  and  who  cared  if  things  were  out  of 
season,  for  wasn't  it  absolutely  imperative 
that  when  the  doctor  should  allow  her  to  be- 
gin to  eat,  nothing  might  be  found  wanting  ? 

While  the  Colonel  was  gone.  Dad  took  his 
place  beside  Sybil.  For  a  while  she  was  con- 
tent to  hold  his  hand  and  smile  back  at  him 
while  he  talked  to  her  about  everyone  at 
home ;  but  presently  she  looked  up  at  the  por- 
trait over  the  mantel.  She  felt  Dad's  hand 
tighten  over  hers  when  his  look  followed  her 
own;  then  she  asked: 

"Daddy,  what  does  it  all  mean?" 

For  a  moment  he  did  not  answer;  but  at 
last  he  said : 

"It's  a  long  story,  my  darling!  Won't  you 
wait  until  you  are  stronger  to  hear  it  ?" 

She  sighed.  "If  you  say  so.  Daddy!  But 
it  puzzles  me  sometimes  until  it  makes  my 
head  hurt!" 

The  doctor  smiled.     "Perhaps  that  is  not 
altogether  the  cause  of  the  poor  little  head's 
hurting.    You  have  been  very  ill,  Sybil." 
285 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"Yes,  I  know!" 

The  doctor  smiled  again.  "And  what  do 
you  think  has  become  of  that  unfortunate 
canoe?"  he  asked.  Sybil  loved  Dad's  way  of 
never  scolding;  yet  sometimes  scolding  would 
have  hurt  less  than  to  have  everything  left 
to  your  own  conscience ! 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know !"  she  said,  smiling 
faintly  and  looking  very  much  ashamed. 

"The  day  we  were  sure  you  would  get  well 
the  Colonel  had  it  brought  up  to  the  lawn  in 
front  of  the  house ;  and  that  night,  Sybil,  he 
made  a  magnificent  bonfire  of  it!" 

"Oh,  Daddy!"  she  laughed.  "Oh,  isn't  he 
the  funniest  old  child  that  ever,  ever  lived !" 

But  she  was  not  going  to  be  diverted  from 
her  first  question.  "Daddy,"  she  asked,  "what 
was  your  really-truly  reason  for  sending  me 
down  here  to  visit?" 

The  doctor  opened  his  eyes  very  wide. 
"Dear  me !  Have  you  forgotten  that  the 
Colonel  wanted  to  make  a  certain  experi- 
ment?" 

"I  have  not  forgotten,  Daddy.  But — ^but 
I'm  beginning  to  think  it's  my  right  to  know 
more !" 

The  doctor  arose,  took  a  turn  or  two  about 
286 


THE    STORM 

the  room,  and  at  length  stood  beside  her  with 
a  very  serious  face. 

"It  is  your  right,  Sybil,  my  daughter,"  he 
said.  "You  shall  be  told  everything  the  day 
after  you  are  well  enough  to  sit  up  before  the 
fire !" 

Then  he  bent  down  and  kissed  her  on  the 
forehead.  "You  are  the  most  precious  gift 
Mother-dear  and  I  ever  had,  little  girl,"  he 
said.  "Now  go  to  sleep,  and  try  to  get  well 
soon  I" 


XIX 
THE   DOOR  OF  MEMORY 

AT  last  the  day  came  when  Sybil  could 
sit  up  in  the  big  chair  before  the  fire, 
directly  below  the  pictured  smiling  face  that 
might  have  been  her  own.  There  she  held  a 
little  court,  for  everyone  came  in  to  pay  their 
respects  to  "Missy,"  or  bring  some  little 
offering  of  thanksgiving.  Torm's  youngsters 
had  a  gift  of  hickory  nuts  and  a  kitten,  Ja- 
phet  led  Damascus  past  the  window,  and  Miss 
Sophia  put  a  pale-blue  shawl  that  she  had  just 
finished  around  Sybil's  shoulders.  The 
Colonel  wandered  restlessly  in  and  out  of  the 
room;  but  Mr.  John  took  a  chair  beside  Sy- 
bil's and  sat  smiling  at  her  in  great  content- 
ment, quite  forgetting  the  little  brown  book 
in  which  his  finger  was  keeping  a  place. 
Sometimes  he  looked  up  at  the  other  face 
above  the  mantel ;  but  it  seemed  as  if  his  eyes 
loved  best  to  rest  upon  the  living  one. 
288 


THE   DOOR   OF   MEMORY 

"Mr.  John,  did  you  know  that  other  Sy- 
billa?"  she  asked  him. 

Before  answering,  the  Hermit  looked  up 
at  Doctor  Crawford,  who  was  leaning  against 
the  mantel,  and  smiled. 

"And  so  it  is,  Robert,"  he  said.  "Time 
passes,  and  we  are  asked  such  a  question  as 
that!"  Then,  to  Sybil,  "I  knew  her,  yes,  my 
dear." 

There  was  something  curious  in  his  tone, 
something  certain  to  set  her  wondering.  She 
looked  up  at  the  doctor.  "You  know  you 
have  a  story  to  tell  me.  Daddy!" 

"Yes,  my  darling.  But  not  to-day — not 
until  you  are  stronger." 

"But  I  do  so  want  to  hear  it.  Father.  I 
think  and  think  about  it,  until  it  makes  my 
head  ache.  It  is  worse  than  looking  at  the 
pieces  of  a  puzzle,  and  not  being  able  to  put 
them  together." 

"To-morrow,  then,  if  you  are  as  well  as 
to-day,"  the  doctor  decided. 

The  Hermit  sat  with  bowed  head  for  a 
while,  as  if  he  were  thinking  of  old,  sad 
things;  then  he  put  his  hand  on  Sybil's  and 
said: 

"My  dear,  when  you  hear — ^that  story — ^will 
289 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

you  try  to  remember,  for  an  old  man's  sake, 
that  there  is  only  One  who  is  qualified  to  be 
the  judge  of  human  actions?" 

She  looked  at  him  in  silence  for  a  moment 
or  two,  then  said,  "I  will  try,  Mr.  John.  But 
I  don't  understand." 

"That's  right,  that's  all  right,"  the  old  man 
said.  "And  as  for  understanding — my  child, 
understanding  is  only  the  handmaid  of  faith !" 

The  Colonel  had  been  so  constant  an  at- 
tendant while  she  was  still  in  bed  that  his 
restless  wandering  in  and  out  of  the  room 
to-day  seemed  somewhat  strange;  and  in  a 
return  of  her  old  humor  Sybil  began  to  tease 
him  about  it. 

"Uncle,  what  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  You 
are  wandering  around  like  the  possessor  of  an 
uneasy  conscience !  Or  have  you  stayed  with 
me  so  much  that  you're  in  need  of  exercise?" 

He  had  been  in  a  most  angelic  mood  during 
all  her  illness,  patient  and  gentle,  with  not  so 
much  as  a  growl  to  be  heard;  but  now  he 
stood  looking  down  at  her  for  a  moment, 
frowning. 

Then  he  said,  "Humph!"  and  stalked  out 
of  the  room! 

Sybil  was  aghast.  "Mercy!  What  is  the 
290 


THE   DOOR   OF   MEMORY 

matter  with  him  ?"  she  asked  her  father.  "I've 
said  lots  worse  things  than  that  to  him,  time 
and  again,  without  making  him  cross !  Oh, 
Daddy,  do  please  go  tell  him  I'm  sorry!  I 
don't  want  to  hurt  the  dear's  feelings !" 

But  the  Hermit,  with  that  quiet,  patient 
smile  of  his,  which  seemed  to  hold  so  much 
of  understanding  and  forgiveness  and  pity, 
said,  "Teasing  sometimes  strikes  home,  my 
dear!    Haven't  you  ever  noticed  that?" 

When  the  next  day  came,  and  she  was  again 
in  the  big  chair,  waiting  for  Doctor  Craw- 
ford to  begin  his  story,  the  Colonel  came  into 
the  room  wearing  a  most  determined  manner. 
He  had  evidently  braced  himself  to  say  some- 
thing. He  stood  in  front  of  the  hearth,  his 
hands  under  his  coat-tails,  looking  down  at 
her.  But  she  was  never  to  hear  the  speech 
the  Colonel  had  prepared,  if  such  it  was,  for 
the  old  gentleman  only  turned  abruptly  on 
his  heel  once  more  and  left  the  room. 

Doctor  Crawford  smiled.  "The  Colonel  is 
rather  upset,  I'm  afraid.  He's  not  sure  how 
you  are  going  to  feel  about  what  I  have  to  tell 
you.  I  think  you  must  have  guessed,  Sybil, 
that  it  concerns  you  both." 

She  was  still  pale  from  her  illness,  yet  it 
291 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

seemed  to  the  doctor  that  for  the  moment  she 
grew  even  paler. 

"Yes,  Father,"  she  said;  and  the  doctor, 
sitting  close  to  her,  with  his  kind  hand  over 
hers,  began  his  story. 

"At  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  great 
Civil  War,  my  Sybil,  this  large  estate  of 
Montebello  was  a  scene  of  busy  plantation 
life,  where  more  than  two  hundred  people 
worked  together  for  the  welfare  and  happi- 
ness of  all;  and  this  old  house  was  as  the 
heart  and  brain  of  the  system.  It  had  long 
been  the  home  of  a  vigorous  family  life;  but 
when  the  war  came  the  family  consisted  only 
of  a  beloved,  invalid  mother,  a  timid  young 
girl,  and  twin  brothers." 

"Oh!  oh!"  cried  Sybil.  "Oh,  Daddy! 
Not " 

The  doctor  nodded.  "Yes !  Twin  brothers, 
William  and  John.  But  for  all  that  they  were 
twins,  their  characters  differed  widely.  Wil- 
liam was  active  and  gay,  John  was  studious 
and  quiet.  William  was  the  general  favorite, 
everyone's  friend;  but  it  seemed  that  the 
mother,  as  if  to  make  up  to  John  for  Wil- 
292 


THE   DOOR   OF   MEMORY 

liam's  greater  popularity,  centered  all  her  love 
upon  him.  At  any  rate,  John  was  most  de- 
cidedly his  mother's  favorite. 

"Well,  Fort  Sumter  fell,  and  war  was  de- 
clared, and  William,  of  course,  was  one  of 
the  first  to  rush  off  and  enlist.  John  stayed 
at  home.  But  people  at  first  thought  nothing 
of  that.  There  were  the  two  women,  help- 
less and  timid,  for  one  thing ;  and  at  that  time 
no  one  believed  that  the  war  would  last  longer 
than  the  first  battle,  anyway.  Yet  that  limit 
was  extended  to  another  month,  and  another ; 
a  year  passed,  and  still  there  was  war.  By 
that  time  people  knew  how  gtim  and  horrible 
it  was,  too,  and  when  the  call  for  more  men 
went  through  the  South,  it  drew  old  and 
young  alike  from  their  homes.  They  say  that 
at  one  time  there  was  not  a  white  man  of 
fighting  age  in  all  this  county — except  John. 
•  He  was  still  here." 

"Then  there  must  have  been  a  reason,  and 
a  good  one  \"  Sybil  cried. 

"Of  course,"  the  doctor  agreed.  "But  no 
one  believed  that,  and  John  gave  no  explana- 
tion." 

"/  would  have  understood,  and  believed  in 
him!"  Sybil  cried  again. 
293 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

But  the  doctor  looked  up  at  the  portrait  of 
another  Sybil,  and  shook  his  head.  "Don't 
be  too  sure,  my  child !"  he  said.  "Feeling  ran 
high  in  those  days,  and  the  women  of  the 
South  were  the  warmest  of  partisans.  That 
is  the  portrait  of  another  Sybil — Sybil  Ruth- 
erford, she  was  then.  Both  brothers  loved 
her.  William  was  off  to  the  war,  on  General 
Lee's  staff,  and  John  was  right  here ;  it  would 
seem  that  John's  chances  must  have  been  the 
better.  But  after  a  while  Sybilla  Rutherford 
began  to  turn  her  head  aside  when  she  met 
him  on  the  road.  So  did  every  other  woman 
in  the  county." 

"Oh,  I  think  that  was  cruel,"  Sybil  said, 
with  trembling  lips. 

"Yes,"  said  the  doctor,  "but  there  was  not 
a  family  in  these  parts  but  had  lost  some 
member  to  the  great  cause — and  John  Crock- 
ett, as  they  believed,  was  keeping  himself  out 
of  danger!  Well,  during  the  last  desperate 
year  of  that  bitter  conflict,  when  every  man 
was  needed  at  the  front,  William  Crockett 
sent  Shem,  his  body-servant,  back  to  Monte- 
bello  with  a  message  to  his  brother  John. 
Writing  from  General  Lee's  headquarters, 
William  demanded  that  John  report  to  the 
294 


THE   DOOR   OF   MEMORY 

army,  or  acknowledge  himself  a  coward.  I 
have  heard  that  General  Lee  himself  enclosed 
a  personal  note 

"Shem  told  his  master  how  Mr.  John  went 
up  to  their  mother's  room  with  those  letters, 
and  how  the  servants  and  Miss  Sophia,  wait- 
ing in  fear  and  trembling  in  the  hall  below, 
heard  the  two  talking,  talking,  all  night  long. 
But  in  the  morning  Shem  was  sent  back  to 
the  army — alone " 

Sybil's  hands  were  over  her  face,  and  the 
doctor  paused  here  in  his  narrative,  as  one 
pauses  when  the  tale  of  some  great  tragedy  is 
told.    But  presently  he  went  on  again. 

"Well,  Richmond  fell ;  and  in  course  of  time 
William  came  home,  thin  and  worn  and  hag- 
gard enough,  I  dare  say ;  but  when  his  brother 
met  him,  out  there  on  the  front  steps,  John's 
hair,  so  I've  been  told,  was  as  white  as  it  is 
to-day     .     .     .     ." 

Again  the  doctor  paused;  he  was  finding 
the  story  hard  to  tell.  He  stood  up,  took  a 
turn  or  two  about  the  room,  and  came  back 
to  the  mantel. 

"William  would  not  so  much  as  see  John's 
outstretched  hands. 

"  'You  coward !'    he  said    ....     I've 

295 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

often  wondered  how  those  words  must  have 
sounded,  from  brother  to  brother     .... 

"'Is  that  what  you  think  of  me?'  John 
asked. 

"I  guess  the  Colonel's  temper  was  no  bet- 
ter in  those  days,  when  he  was  young  and 
hot-headed,  and  just  from  the  bitter  disap- 
pointment of  defeat,  than  it  is  today  in  his 
old  age.  There  were  wild,  angry  words,  you 
may  believe,  words  that  could  never  be  for- 
gotten, words  that  it  would  need  the  help 
of  Almighty  God  to  forgive.  When  the  tor- 
rent ceased,  John  asked  again,  'Do  other  peo- 
ple think  that  of  me,  too?' 

"William  stormed  on,  and  again  John 
asked : 

"  'Is  that  what — Sybilla  thinks  of  me  ?' 

"  'That  name  is  not  for  a  coward's  lips,* 
said  William.  Nor  was  that  all  he  said.  John 
heard  him  to  the  end ;  then  he  spoke  the  last 
words  that  William  ever  heard  from  his  lips, 
until  he  came  here  that  day  when  you,  Sybil, 
called  for  him — for  your  rescuer. 

"  'Very  well,'  he  said.    *I  will  not  disgrace 

you  further.    I  will  never  cross  this  threshold 

again  until  you — and  Sybilla — send  for  me!' 

For  he  knew  by  that  time,  of  course,  that  the 

296 


THE   DOOR   OF   MEMORY 

woman  he  loved  would  marry  his  brother." 
Sybil's  eyes  were  brimming  with  tears,  and 
her  hand  was  over  her  heart,  as  if  to  still 
a  pain  there.    "And  she  did?"  she  asked. 

The  doctor  nodded.  "Yes.  They  were 
married,  but  Sybilla  died  when  her  son  was 
a  little  baby.  His  grandmother  and  Sair'  Ann, 
his  nurse,  looked  after  Rutherford;  but  ex- 
cept when  I  was  visiting  here  he  must  have 
been  a  lonely  child.  The  Colonel,  after  the 
quarrel  with  his  brother,  chose  to  consider  the 
family  disgraced,  and  what  with  that  and  his 
wife's  death,  he  refused  to  see  any  of  his  old 
friends,  or  even  to  allow  them  to  come  to 
Montebello.  He  and  his  mother  and  sister 
lived  here,  with  the  boy ;  John  lived  in  that  lit- 
tle brown  house  that  someone  had  built,  in 
years  gone  by,  almost  on  the  border  of  Monte- 
bello. John  kept  his  word,  and  more ;  for  even 
after  his  mother's  death,  many  years  later, 
when  everything  became  known,  and  peace 
niight  have  been  made  between  the  brothers  at 
a  word  from  either,  he  remained  there  in  abso- 
lute seclusion,  except  for  his  servant,  Daniel. 
Where  the  Colonel  was  proud,  John  was  sensi- 
tive. I  dare  say  he  shrank  from  seeing  him- 
self a  traitor  in  the  eyes  of  his  old  neighbors. 
297 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

So  he  waited  for  the  message  from  William — 
and  Sybilla!  William  would  not  speak  that 
word;  and  as  for  Sybilla — ^by  that  time  Syb- 
illa was  long  dead." 

"Oh,  it  was  his  mother  who  kept  him!" 
Sybil  cried.     "I  knew  he  was  no  coward!" 

"It  was  his  mother.  She  was  my  grand- 
father's sister,  born  in  Vermont ;  and  although 
she  had  married  a  Southern  man  and  lived 
here  for  so  many  years,  Vermont  remained 
the  home  of  her  affections.  When  the  war 
came,  she  hated  the  South  and  its  cause;  and 
at  the  time  when  everyone  still  believed  that 
the  fighting  would  last  only  a  few  weeks,  she 
made  her  son  John  promise,  solemnly  and 
by  all  he  held  most  dear  and  sacred,  never 
to  enlist  without  her  consent.  More,  she  per- 
suaded him  to  swear  never  to  aid  the  cause 
of  the  South  by  any  personal  effort.  I  have 
often  wondered  what  persuasions  she  used — 
her  own  infirmity,  doubtless,  his  sister's  timid- 
ity, her  love  for  him — ^but  one  cannot  tell. 
Later,  she  even  desired  that  he  should  join 
the  Northern  forces;  but  John  could  not  do 
that,  of  course.  Even  if  he  had  wanted  to,  it 
would  have  been  to  fight  against  his  own  State 
and  his  brother.  So  he  kept  his  promise  to 
298 


THE   DOOR   OF   MEMORY 

his  mother.  None  of  us,  Sybil,  can  so  much 
as  imagine  what  agony  of  mind  it  must  have 
cost  him. 

"But  all  that  was  not  known  until  years 
later.  After  John  left  Montebello,  Aunt 
Crockett  became  a  silent,  moody  woman;  and 
when  she  died,  and  the  whole  story  came  out 
through  a  letter  she  left  to  be  read  after  her 
death,  young  Rutherford  Crockett  was  just 
twenty-one.  I  was  here  at  the  time,  I  was 
often  here  with  him ;  we  were  closer  than  most 
cousins,  as  neither  of  us  had  brothers  or  sis- 
ters. Rutherford  spent  his  winters  with  my 
family,  going  to  school  with  me,  and  most 
of  my  summers  were  passed  here.  Well, 
Rutherford  had  discovered  his  uncle's  hiding- 
place  when  he  was  a  youngster,  and  used  to 
visit  him  secretly;  so  did  I.  When  Aunt 
Crockett's  letter  was  read,  Rutherford  begged 
the  Colonel  to  go  to  John,  or  even  to  let  him 
carry  a  message.  The  Colonel  refused,  and 
the  two  quarreled.  Father  and  son  were  al- 
most evenly  matched  as  to  will,  but  not  as  to 
temper.  The  struggle  lasted  for  days.  But 
at  last,  when  Rutherford  found  that  nothing 
would  move  his  father,  he  declared  that  he 
would  not  remain  in  a  house  where  injustice 
299 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

ruled.  He  vowed  he  would  maintain  the 
family  tradition  of  keeping  his  word,  and 
warned  his  father  that  he  would  never  return 
until  justice  was  done. 

"I  tried  to  mend  matters  between  them, 
but  there  was  little  I  could  do.  Rutherford 
came  north  with  me,  and  we  settled  in  the 
same  place.  He  wrote  to  his  father  when  he 
was  married,  but  received  no  reply.  He  was 
too  proud,  and  too  deeply  hurt,  to  write  again. 
Not  even  when  you  were  born,  Sybil,  would 
he  break  that  silence.  Then,  a  year  or  two 
later,  when  his  wife  died  and  Rutherford 
himself  was  fatally  ill,  he — he  gave  us  his 
little  daughter,  to  be  our  own  child — unless — 
unless  her  grandfather  should  claim  her.  That 
claim  must  come  before  all  others ;  and  it  was 
that  reservation  which  Mother-dear  and  I  re- 
membered, when  the  Colonel's  letter  came." 

The  doctor's  story  was  ended.  For  a  mo- 
ment Sybil  sat,  with  bowed  head,  in  silence. 
Then,  with  a  cry,  she  rose  to  her  feet,  weak 
though  she  was,  and  threw  herself  into  the 
doctor's  arms.  He  held  her  close,  and  let  her 
cry  out  her  pain  and  sorrow;  and  it  was 
there  that  the  Colonel  saw  her.  when  he 
300 


THE   DOOR   OF   MEMORY 

opened  the  door  and  peeped  around  the  edge 
of  it  with  the  expression  of  a  small  boy  com- 
ing to  a  well-deserved  trouncing. 

"Look  up,  Sybil,"  said  the  doctor.  "Here 
is  your  grandfather." 

But  at  that  Sybil's  arms  were  all  the  closer 
about  his  neck,  her  head  buried  all  the  deeper, 
in  the  curls  of  her  loosened  hair,  against  the 
doctor's  shoulder.  The  Colonel  crossed  the 
room  on  tip-toe,  bent  over,  and  laid  his  hand 
on  her  head. 

"'Sybilla !"  he  said,  in  a  voice  that  held  much 
of  fear  and  pleading. 

But  Sybilla  would  not  hear,  or  look. 

"Sybil !  Look  up,  dear !  Isn't  there  any 
place  in  your  heart  for  your  grandfather?" 
the  doctor  remonstrated. 

After  waiting  in  vain  for  her  answer  to 
that,  the  Colonel  straightened  up,  and  squared 
his  shoulders  as  if  to  meet  some  unseen 
burden.  His  voice  broke,  but  he  made  a 
gallant  effort  to  control  it,  doing  his 
best  to  speak  with  something  of  his  old 
bluster.  ' 

"I  don't  blame  her  at  all!  I  don't  blame 
her  at  all!"  he  said.  "Not  at  all!  Not  at 
all!  Don't  suppose  she'll  ever  want  to  look 
301 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

at  me  again !    Can't  forgive  me !    But  I  don't 
blame  her  at  all!" 

But  that  brought  a  little  sound  that  was 
half  laugh,  half  sob,  from  Sybil;  and  almost 
before  he  knew  it  the  Colonel  felt  two  arms 
around  his  neck,  and  the  voice  that  he  loved 
best  in  the  world  saying,  laughing,  crying: 
"Oh,  you  silly  old  darling — Grandfather!" 
Yet  for  him  the  happiest  moment  of  all 
was  an  hour  or  so  later,  when  he  had  an- 
swered all  Sybil's  questions  and  submitted  to 
her  scolding  and  caresses;  and  told  her  how 
he  had  half-guessed,  from  her  likeness  to  his 
wife  Sybilla,  whose  child  she  really  was;  and 
how  he  had  been  afraid  to  find  out  the  truth, 
lest  his  hopes  might  prove  futile;  and  how 
he  had  known  of  her  visits  to  his  brother  all 
the  while,  and  hoped  every  time  she  came 
home  that  she  would  ask  him  to  send  for  the 
Hermit,  and  so  enable  John  to  keep  the  letter 
of  his  vow  and  return  to  Montebello  when 
William — "and  Sybilla" — should  ask  him  to; 
and  how  she  had,  in  fact,  done  that  very 
thing  the  day  the  Hermit  saved  her  from  the 
water;  and  how  he  would  permit  no  one  but 
John  to  take  turns  with  himself  in  sitting  be- 
side her  during  those  unconscious  hours  when 
302 


THE    DOOR   OF   MEMORY 

they  did  not  know  whether  she  would  be  left 
with  them  or  not — the  Colonel's  happiest  mo- 
ment of  all  was  when  his  brother  John  came 
quietly  into  the  room,  looking  as  much  at  home 
as  if  he  had  never  been  absent  from  Monte- 
bello,  and  seated  himself  near  by.  For  a  while 
they  were  all  too  happy  to  talk;  but  Sybil 
could  not  keep  silent  for  long. 

"Mr.  John — Uncle  John,"  she  asked,  re- 
turning his  quick  smile  of  pleasure,  "did  you 
guess  who  I  was?" 

The  old  man  laughed.  "No  need  to  guess, 
my  dear!  Your  father  wrote  me  when  you 
were  born ;  I  even  have  a  tiny  photograph  of 
you  when  you  were  a  baby.  Before  he  died 
he  wrote  again  that  he  intended  to  entrust  his 
baby  girl  to  Robert  and  his  wife." 

"Then  you  knew  all  the  time!  Oh!  How 
could  you  keep  such  a  secret  as  that?" 

"It  was  your  father's  secret,  my  dear !  And 
I  have  had  long  practice  in  keeping  silence, 
you  know!" 

"Don't,  John!"  cried  the  Colonel,  wincing 
as  if  something  hurt  him. 

But  the  man  who  had  been  the  Hermit 
smiled  upon  his  brother,  and  laid  a  hand  on 
his  shoulder.  "It's  all  right,  William,"  he 
303 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

said.  "It  is  like  a  dream  of  the  night — gone 
by!" 

"So  my  father  wrote  to  Uncle  John !"  Sybil 
said,  thoughtfully.  "I  wonder  why  he  did 
not  write  to  you  again,  Grandfather?" 

The  Colonel  turned  away  his  head,  so  that 
he  would  not  have  to  see  the  look  in  the  clear 
eyes.  "He  did,  Sybilla.  But  I — ^burned  the 
letter — unopened." 

"Oh!"  she  cried,  sitting  up  straight,  the 
better  to  look  at  him.  "Oh!  You — ^you — 
you  dreadful  old  man!  Aren't  you  ashamed 
of  yourself?"  she  demanded. 

And  the  Colonel  was  meekness  itself. 
"Yes,  I  certainly  am,  Sybilla!  I  wonder  you 
can  bear  to  look  at  me !" 


XX 

WHAT   SYBIL    SAID 

SO  Sybil  came  into  her  own.  The  neighbor- 
hood echoed  with  the  great  news.  The 
Colonel  lost  little  time  in  making  what  he 
called  an  official  announcement,  but  of  course 
everyone  knew  of  it  long  before  that,  through 
the  wireless  telegraph  of  the  negroes'  gossip. 
Miss  Sophia,  apparently,  was  the  only  per- 
son in  the  household  of  Montebello  who  had 
been  utterly  without  some  suspicion  of  the 
truth ;  the  little  lady  was  taken  completely 
by  surprise,  and  fell  into  such  a  state,  be- 
tween laughter  and  tears,  that  the  doctor  had 
to  prescribe  smelling  salts  and  a  glass  of 
sherry — whereupon  the  Colonel  said  he  knew 
something  better  than  that,  and  had  Shem 
bring  up  some  of  his  great-grandfather's  ma- 
deira, which  Shem  opened  with  such  a  pop 
of  the  cork  that  Miss  Sophia  went  off  into 
hysterics  again !  But  when  she  had  taken 
305 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

a  sip  or  two  of  the  wine,  she  found  that  she 
had  a  very  great  deal  to  say.  There  were 
questions,  and  exclamations,  and  still  more 
questions,  and  then  comments     .... 

"Do  you  know,"  she  said,  and  wondered 
why  every  one  seemed  amused,  "I  have 
•thought,  once  or  twice,  that  the  resemblance 
between  this  dear  child  and  our  Sybilla  was 
quite  remarkable !  But  then,  there  are  so 
many  things  in  this  world  that  one  cannot 
understand!  And  the  name — I  remember 
that  the  Reverend  Mr.  Faulkener,  the  one 
who  was  second  cousin  to  Susy  Lee,  and 
who  had  the  charge  of  St.  Charles  Martyr's 
when  Mr.  Houston  was  ill  in  fifty-eight,  used 
to  have  a  most  interesting  theory  about  people 
growing  up  like  their  own  names,  somehow, 
though  he  never  made  it  very  clear     .     .     ." 

Sair'  Ann  came  in,  too,  and  fell  on  her 
knees  before  Sybil,  clasping  the  girl's  feet  to 
her  bosom,  and  kissing  them  over  and  over. 

"Oh,  my  lamb,  my  lamb!"  she  cried.  "I'se 
jest  been  pinin'  an'  honin'  to  git  my  two  arms 
aroun'  you,  ever  sence  I  set  eyes  on  you! 
My  Marse  Ruffie's  HI  baby  girl,  an'  de  spitten 
image  o'  Miss  Sybilla!     Oh,  my  lil  lamb!" 

Then,  when  Sybil,  weeping  too,  had  com- 
306 


WHAT    SYBIL    SAID 

forted  her,  the  old  woman  arose,  stood  before 
the  Colonel,  and  smoothed  her  apron. 

"Marster,"  she  said,  speaking  with  the  por- 
tentousness  of  the  negro  in  time  of  great  emo- 
tion, "Marster,  I'se  had  my  fill  o'  cookinM 
I  ain't  nuvver  gwine  into  dat  kitchen  to  cook 
ano'er  meal.  I'se  gwine  spend  de  rest  o'  my 
days  a-lookin'  out  for  my  Marse  Ruffle's 
baby.  I  wants  to  bresh  her  lil  haid  an'  wash 
her  lil  clo'es  an'  tuck  her  up  in  baid  at  night 
an'  see  her  open  her  eyes  in  de  mornin' !  So 
now  I  tells  you!" 

"Why,  Sair'  Ann!"  said  the  Colonel,  rather 
weakly;  and  Sair'  Ann  had  her  way. 

Molly  rushed  over,  brimming  with  joy  and 
excitement ;  and  every  day  someone  sent  flow- 
ers or  dishes  of  good  things  for  the  conva- 
lescent— in  all  of  which  the  Colonel  took 
great  satisfaction. 

But  so  much  happiness  was  not  won  with- 
out causing  pain  to  others.  It  was  hard  for 
Doctor  and  Mrs.  Crawford  to  relinquish  their 
claim  on  the  child  who  had  been  as  their  dear 
eldest  daughter  for  most  of  her  life;  and  the 
twins  stormed  with  grief  when  they  learned 
that  Sybil  was  not  their  own  sister.  For  a 
few  days,  indeed,  they  were  on  very  cool 
307 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

terms  with  their  father  and  mother,  attribut- 
ing all  the  trouble  to  them,  because  they  had 
permitted  Sybil  to  go  to  Maryland  in  the  first 
place,  and  so  let  the  deplorable  secret  be 
known.  For  not  ten  Montebellos,  nor  twenty 
grandfathers,  could  compensate  poor  Sybil 
for  being  thrust  out  of  the  Crawford  family, 
as  Bobs  expressed  it. 

They  wrote  long  letters  of  condolence  to 
Sybil,  in  which  they  said  very  stern  things 
about  old  gentlemen  who  borrowed  people 
and  then  refused  to  return  them.  The  Col- 
onel shouted  with  laughter  over  the  letters. 

"It's  plain  to  be  seen,"  he  said  to  Sybil, 
"that  I  have  offended  those  two !  Now,  what 
can  I  do  to  make  amends  for  stealing  you 
away  from  them,  eh  ?" 

"I  think  you  will  find,"  said  Sybil,  demure- 
ly, "that  they  hold  me  above  price!" 

The  Colonel  chuckled.  "We'll  see  about 
that!"  he  said. 

Consequently,  a  week  or  two  later,  the 
twins  received  peace  offerings  from  the  old 
gentleman,  in  the  form  of  a  beautiful  collie 
puppy  for  Bobs  and  a  white  Persian  kitten 
for  Bunny;  but  harmonious  relations  were 
not  fully  restored  until  Christmas  Eve. 
308 


WHAT    SYBIL    SAID 

One  afternoon  a  week  or  so  before  Christ- 
riias  the  Colonel  came  upon  Sybil  in  the  up- 
stairs hall,  surrounded  by  red  and  white  pa- 
per and  holly  ribbons  and  balls  of  gilt  string 
and  a  mass  of  gifts  of  every  description,  and 
the  box  for  South  Wickham  on  the  floor  be- 
side her.  It  all  seemed  cheerful  enough,  at 
first  glance;  but,  to  the  Colonel's  horror  and 
dismay,  there  were  tears  in  his  darling's  eyes. 
She  looked  up  at  him  with  trembling  lips  that 
tried  to  smile,  and  did  her  best  to  make  be- 
lieve that  she  was  not  crying  at  all ;  but  the 
Colonel  was  not  to  be  deceived  where  she  was 
concerned. 

"Why,  why,  why,  why !"  he  exclaimed,  seat- 
ing himself  beside  her.  "What's  all  this? 
What's  all  this?  Anything  forgotten?  Any- 
thing lost?  Anything  gone  wrong?  Want 
some  more  money?    Hey?" 

"Oh,  no !"  said  Sybil,  in  a  weak  little  voice. 
"Everything's  all  right!" 

The  Colonel  drew  down  his  eyebrows,  and 
tried  to  relapse  into  his  old  manner,  as  he 
always  did  to  hide  emotion.  "All  right,  hey? 
All  right,  is  it?  Then  what  are  you  whim- 
pering for,  Miss?"  he  demanded. 

"I — I've  never  been  away  from  home  at 
309 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Christmas  in  all  my  life  before,"  said  Sybil, 
"and  I  was  just  thinking  about  the  stockings, 
and  the  tree,  and " 

She  could  not  go  on,  and  she  did  not  see 
that  the  old  gentleman's  eyebrows  were  work- 
ing now  at  a  great  rate.  But  his  voice  broke 
as  he  presently  asked: 

"Home?    Isn't  this  home  to  you,  Sybilla?" 

She  turned  and  hid  her  face  against  his 
arm.  "Oh,  yes.  Grandfather!  But — that — is 
— home,  too-o-o-o-oo !" 

By  that  time  she  was  sobbing  wildly,  and 
the  Colonel's  red  bandanna  had  to  become  very 
busy  flapping  away  flies,  although  there  was 
no  one  to  see  how  often  it  brushed  across 
his  eyes,  just  by  accident, 

"There!  There!  There!"  he  said,  after  a 
while.  "I  never  once  thought  of  your  being 
homesick,  little  girl!  I  reckon  I'm  a  good 
deal  of  a  failure  as  a  grandfather!  Didn't 
begin  in  time!  That's  it!"  Oh,  he  knew 
how  to  have  her  immediately  up  in  arms  for 
him! 

"You  are  not !"  she  cried,  looking  up  at  him 
reproachfully.  "You  are  not  a  failure  at  all! 
You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself  for  say- 
ing such  a  thing!  You  are  an  old  darling, 
310 


WHAT    SYBIL    SAID 

but — I — I  want — to  see  my  Mother-dear — 
and  Dad!" 

She  had  to  hide  her  face  once  more  against 
his  sleeve,  but  the  Colonel  gave  the  table  a 
bang  which  sent  all  the  Christmas  things  up 
into  the  air  in  fantastic  little  jumps. 

"There!"  he  cried  vigorously.  "There!  I 
knew  there  was  something  I've  been  wanting, 
but  I  couldn't  find  out  what  it  was !  Now, 
why  didn't  we  think  of  it  before,  Sybilla? 
I  want  to  see  those  twins !  God  bless  my 
soul !  I've  got  to  see  those  twins !  Now,  why 
didn't  I  realize  that  sooner?     Hey?" 

Sybil  swung  around  to  look  up  into  his 
face.  "Do  you  mean  it?"  she  cried.  "Will 
you  go?" 

As  if  he  would  not  have  gone  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth  v/ith  that  adored  granddaughter 
of  his!  "I  will  that!"  he  declared,  adding, 
"If  you'llgo  withme?    Hey?" 

So  it  happened  that  the  big  express  box 
was  sent  off  in  good  time,  with  not  a  word  or 
a  hint  of  the  surprise  that  was  to  follow.  Mr. 
John  and  Miss  Sophia  thought  they  could 
have  a  very  happy  Christmas  alone  together 
at  Montebello,  and  declared  that  traveling  did 
not  appeal  to  them,  anyway. 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

"It  isn't  that  I  am  timid  at  all,"  Miss 
Sophia,  who  had  never  been  out  of  the  coun- 
ty, confided  to  Sybil,  "but  I  think  all  this 
traveling  by  land  and  water  is  apt  to  make 
one  dissatisfied  with  home — don't  you,  my 
dear?" 

Sybil  smiled.  "It  might  work  the  other 
way  with  you,  Cousin  Sophia,"  she  said,  "and 
make  you  glad  to  get  back!" 

She  still  called  the  little  old  lady  "Cousin," 
instead  of  "Aunt";  Miss  Sophia  had  asked 
her  to  do  so,  saying,  "It  makes  us  seem  so 
much  more  of  an  age,  my  dear!" 

Now  Miss  Sophia  shook  her  head.  "Well, 
my  dear,  perhaps  it  might,  but  I  think  it  is 
just  as  well  to  keep  out  of  temptation.  It's 
not  that  I  am  in  the  least  afraid  of  those 
steamboats  and  railroad  trains,  for  I'm  sure 
a  great  many  people  survive  them.  But  I 
have  heard  that  it  is  quite  easy  for  a  female 
to  become — er — emancipated,  and — and  bold, 
and — well,  on  the  whole  I  think  I'd  better 
stay  at  home  with  dear  Brother  John!" 

It  was  the  day  before  Christmas  when  the 
Colonel  and  Sybil  arrived  in  South  Wick- 
ham.  She  wanted  to  walk  in  upon  the  family 
unannounced,  so  refused  to  drive  up,  and  led 
312 


WHAT    SYBIL    SAID 

her  willing  grandfather  through  back  streets, 
lest  they  might  meet  some  of  the  family,  and 
stole  past  the  stable,  and  up  to  the  side  door, 
and  opened  it  without  knocking,  and  walked 
into  the  dining-room  where  the  family  were 
at  supper — and  then  what  wild  joy  there  was ! 
What  a  welcoming  tenderness  for  Sybil  in 
Mother-dear's  arms!  What  a  shout  from 
Hallam,  what  bashful  gladness  from  old  Dick, 
what  a  warmth  of  greeting  between  the  doc- 
tor and  the  beaming  old  gentleman!  What  a 
dignified  hand-shake,  that  brought  flushes  to 
the  faces  of  both,  from  Donald  to  the  Sybil 
who  was  no  longer  a  sister,  even  in  name  1 
And  above  all,  what  dances  and  shrieks  of 
glee  from  the  twins,  and  what  shouts  of 
laughter  from  everyone  else  when  they 
hugged  the  Colonel  before  they  remembered 
the  feud  against  him!  And  how  pleased  the 
Colonel  was  when  they  called  him  "Grand- 
father," quite  as  a  matter  of  course!  And 
next  morning  what  exclamations  there  were 
at  the  tree,  as  if  they  had  not  all  helped  to 
trim  it  the  evening  before !  And  what  satis- 
faction over  the  presents,  and  what  joy  at 
all  being  together  again !  And  what  fun  there 
was,  all  that  week,  when  South  Wickham  did 
313 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

its  festive  best  to  show  Sybil  how  much  it 
loved  her,  and  succeeded  in  making  the  Col- 
onel the  proudest  old  gentleman  in  the  world ! 

It  really  did  seem  as  if  such  happiness 
ought  to  go  on  forever,  in  just  that  way,  with- 
out any  change  or  difference!  They  wel- 
comed each  day  with  its  good  times  without 
a  thought  that  its  coming  but  hastened  its  go- 
ing! For  each  day  was  brimming  with  glad- 
ness and  friendliness  and  affection — and  who 
could  stop  to  realize  that  such  hours  must 
come  to  an  end?  Yet  they  passed,  and  the 
time  of  separation  drew  near.  On  the  last 
afternoon  before  Donald  must  go  back  to 
college,  he  and  Sybil  went  off,  with  skates 
over  their  shoulders,  for  a  cHmb  to  High 
Meadow  Pond.  They  skated  awhile,  then 
stopped  at  that  boulder  of  granite  which  had 
been  the  resting  place  of  so  many  generations 
of  skaters.  A  few  other  couples  were  skim- 
ming over  the  pond,  but  Donald  and  Sybil 
were  unaware  of  them. 

They  had  been  talking  of  Montebello,  and 
Fordham,  and  the  good  times  there  last  sum- 
mer. They  had  spoken  no  word  of  Sybil's 
changed  fortunes,  and  of  Jack  Rutherford 
they  had  spoken  only  in  passing. 
314 


WHAT    SYBIL    SAID 

"You  will  come  down  for  all  of  next  sum- 
mer, Don,"  said  Sybil,  looking  across  the 
frozen  pond  towards  distant  Maryland,  with 
eyes  that  told  she  was  thinking  of  a  place 
she  loved. 

"Not  next  summer,  Sybil,  nor  for  a  good 
many  summers,"  he  said. 

She  looked  up  at  him  quickly.  "Why, 
Donald!  What  is  the  matter?  Why  do  you 
say  that?" 

"Because  I  am  going  to  work,  next  summer. 
You  know  I  have  my  own  way  to  make,  and 
I  cannot  begin  too  soon.  I  have  got  to  suc- 
ceed, Sybil!" 

"Of  course,"  she  said,  simply.  "But  you 
can  come  to  Montebello  in  between!" 

There  was  a  change  in  Donald's  voice  as 
he  answered:  "I  shall  not  come  to  Monte- 
bello again,  Sybil,  until — until  I  have  some- 
thing to  show  for  my  work !" 

"Oh,  Donald!"  she  began,  in  protest;  but 
something  came  into  his  eyes,  and  she  turned 
from  him,  flushing.  For  a  long  time,  as  it 
seemed,  neither  spoke;  then  Donald  asked, 
bending  toward  her  a  little: 

"Sybil,  when  I've  made  good,  when  I  do 
come  back  to  Montebello,  will  you  be  there?" 
315 


THE    COLONEL'S    EXPERIMENT 

Her  voice  was  so  low  that  he  scarcely  heard 
the  answer,  "Yes,  Donald!  I  shall  be  there 
— waiting!"  she  whispered.  And  he  carried 
that  whisper  with  him  through  the  years. 


(1) 


3S    *<*B*>1>*1^^ 

^^S@ 

2    i.a^i^P 

-^^^ 

'  "-^^^-^^0 

^^^^ 

s 

■»-~i  -4-^F^^S 

^^^M 

'-^^^^S 

^H^ 

"  ^^ 

^^ggSi'.'t" 

B 

